1. Captain America
Once again, Brubaker's Cap is at the top of the list, even with Cap himself having been missing for most of the year. It is, I think, not quite as good as it was a year ago, mainly because it seems to be in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment, but it's still head and shoulders above anything else out there and it's still the first thing out of the Big Box O' Comics every month.
2. The entire Sinestro Corps event
This thing has been praised from one end of the internet to the other, and deservedly so. A good mix of adventure and character, plenty of cosmic stuff without the pretension that sort of thing usually comes with. And the promise of things to come that will be, at the least, interesting.
3. Irredeemable Ant-Man
It's over now, but I sure did love it while it lasted.
4. All-New Atom
Still one of the most reliably entertaining things I get every month. And I'm still hoping for a regular role somewhere in the DC universe for Ryan even after Ray makes his return.
5. Green Lantern Corps
I've really enjoyed this title this year, particularly the different characters and how they learn to work together. I had wondered, actually, how this series would work as time went on and the new recruits became seasoned veterans, but it looks like the Corps will be having enough new and interesting things to deal with soon that that shouldn't be a problem.
6. Justice Society of America
You'd think, considering that I have very little nostalgic attachment to the DC universe, that I wouldn't care too much for a book with such a tight connection to DC past. But I do. It helps that the book is consistently excellent, and it helps that this is where you find the older heroes. (I'm forty-five. I like seeing heroes who have passed their twenties, or thirties, or beyond. Now if they can just stop separating them out into just the one book...)
7. Cable and Deadpool
All because of Deadpool. Everybody loves Deadpool. Everybody around here, anyway.
8. Countdown
Yes, I know that Countdown is one of the more universally reviled titles around. But this isn't a list of good comics, it's a list of comics I've enjoyed, and I have very much enjoyed this series. Part, I'm sure, is that there are four or five of them in the box every month. How cool is that? But I'm enjoying a number of the storylines quite a bit, and I'm wanting to see what happens next, so I'm good.
9. Deadpool GLI Summer Fun Spectacular
A fun, mostly-lighthearted book featuring two of my favorite characters/teams in the Marvel universe. Not bad.
10. Moon Knight
A disturbing take on the superhero, always interesting, always unique. I hope the creative changeover doesn't take it too far away from what it has been so far.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Again with the links?
20th Century Danny Boy has a nice piece up on the fate of many of the comic creators we older fans grew up with: Ageism and Discrimination in Comic Books, or...Whatever Happened to Frank Springer?
The Absorbascon has Anachronoslides, all about the problems associated with the sliding time scale used to mesh superheroes' pasts with the present.
Super Stupor, by R.K. Milholland (the guy who does Something Positive) has a neat take on the whole Women in Refrigerators thing. SP is one of my favorite web comics anyway, so I find it not at all surprising that he's so on-the-nose on this issue.
Also, not comic-related really, I'm going to try to do the Blog 365 challenge. All that is, is trying to blog every day for all of 2008. I started to try to do this anyway a few months back, mainly because I know how easy it is to get out of the habit, so if I can do that, why not try for a year? We'll see how it goes now that I'm actually telling people I'm making the effort.
The Absorbascon has Anachronoslides, all about the problems associated with the sliding time scale used to mesh superheroes' pasts with the present.
Super Stupor, by R.K. Milholland (the guy who does Something Positive) has a neat take on the whole Women in Refrigerators thing. SP is one of my favorite web comics anyway, so I find it not at all surprising that he's so on-the-nose on this issue.
Also, not comic-related really, I'm going to try to do the Blog 365 challenge. All that is, is trying to blog every day for all of 2008. I started to try to do this anyway a few months back, mainly because I know how easy it is to get out of the habit, so if I can do that, why not try for a year? We'll see how it goes now that I'm actually telling people I'm making the effort.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Holiday kid stuff
The thirteen-year-old let me read her holiday trades today--the two most recent Teen Titans volumes. She's thrilled with them, and they're certainly readable. There are definitely benefits to reading some books in trade form, although with Countdown I guess I already knew some of what was in there. She moved her Minimates into the Lego house she built for them.
The nine-year-old's Minimates now live in an old Fisher Price castle. It was that or the Hello Kitty house. I haven't read her Franklin Richards book yet, but she keeps showing me particularly funny bits so I may not need to.
As for my action figures, I'm told that they will be much happier when they get to move in with the others, where there's a pool table just their size. Right now they're sitting on the table next to me.
I've got one more comic-related gift on its way, indirectly from my brother. :)
The nine-year-old's Minimates now live in an old Fisher Price castle. It was that or the Hello Kitty house. I haven't read her Franklin Richards book yet, but she keeps showing me particularly funny bits so I may not need to.
As for my action figures, I'm told that they will be much happier when they get to move in with the others, where there's a pool table just their size. Right now they're sitting on the table next to me.
I've got one more comic-related gift on its way, indirectly from my brother. :)
Friday, December 28, 2007
Marvel Legends Action Figures: The Black Knight, Captain America, and Bucky
The Black Knight was here in time for Christmas, but the other two didn't arrive until today. I was almost ready to say that Hasbro seemed to be hitting its stride with regard to its figures, that this series seemed so much better than those that had gone before. But I'm not saying that quite yet.
I like the Black Knight figure a lot. He comes with a sword and shield that look great and make for some excellent poses. He himself is wonderfully posable. The articulation is less than it was--no hand or toe joints, but decent arm and leg motion and swivel wrists and ankles, a swivel waist (although not much capacity for bending at the waist either by waist or by hip) and a good deal of head motion considering the shoulder armor. Ths costume looks great, the helmet doesn't come off but also looks wonderful. He's just a great-looking, very playable figure that stands up easily on his own. Yes, the articulation is far less than it was with the original Marvel Legends figures, but I can't bring myself to mind that because he is just so awesome. I'm very happy with him.
I am likewise thrilled with the 40s-era Captain America figure. I was really torn about asking for him, since I already have a Cap, but that one is awfully hard to play with and this one looked so good in the pictures. And I'm glad I did get him. Again, considerably less articulation in this figure--no finger or toe action, for example--but very posable despite that. Good head motion, good arm and leg movement, swivel wrists, ankles and waist. The costume is wonderful--he has the pointy shield, of course, but also the skullcap headgear instead of the cowl. The scale mail is incredibly detailed. He stands well and is nicely posable. I have to say that I like him a lot better than I do the other Cap in the collection.
So I was about to say that it looks like Hasbro has found their way with regard to these figures, and that if what it took was a little less articulation to avoid seeing anything else like anorexic Emma Frost, that was fine with me. However, that was before I opened the Bucky figure.
The Bucky figure seems to use much of the same body mold as the Young Avengers' Patriot figure; if so, it looks much better on Eli. This figure is, well, scrawny and gangly, with a tiny head and sloped shoulders, and not athletic at all. Yes, he's supposed to be a kid, but he's also about as tall as the Cap figure, so the proportion is way off. (I suppose I'm disappointed, in part, because I figure this might be as close to a Winter Soldier figure as I ever get. :)) He doesn't look like the young boy of the Golden Age comics or the fit 16-year-old Brubaker suggests.
On the plus side, the costume isn't bad. And he's decently articulated, including toe and finger joints. He is reasonably posable and playable, although because the figure isn't all that attractive it's hard to find a pose that looks anything like what you'd see in the comics. Still, it's cool that they made him, and I suppose I should hope for the Original Torch and Toro to come out sometime!
I like the Black Knight figure a lot. He comes with a sword and shield that look great and make for some excellent poses. He himself is wonderfully posable. The articulation is less than it was--no hand or toe joints, but decent arm and leg motion and swivel wrists and ankles, a swivel waist (although not much capacity for bending at the waist either by waist or by hip) and a good deal of head motion considering the shoulder armor. Ths costume looks great, the helmet doesn't come off but also looks wonderful. He's just a great-looking, very playable figure that stands up easily on his own. Yes, the articulation is far less than it was with the original Marvel Legends figures, but I can't bring myself to mind that because he is just so awesome. I'm very happy with him.
I am likewise thrilled with the 40s-era Captain America figure. I was really torn about asking for him, since I already have a Cap, but that one is awfully hard to play with and this one looked so good in the pictures. And I'm glad I did get him. Again, considerably less articulation in this figure--no finger or toe action, for example--but very posable despite that. Good head motion, good arm and leg movement, swivel wrists, ankles and waist. The costume is wonderful--he has the pointy shield, of course, but also the skullcap headgear instead of the cowl. The scale mail is incredibly detailed. He stands well and is nicely posable. I have to say that I like him a lot better than I do the other Cap in the collection.
So I was about to say that it looks like Hasbro has found their way with regard to these figures, and that if what it took was a little less articulation to avoid seeing anything else like anorexic Emma Frost, that was fine with me. However, that was before I opened the Bucky figure.
The Bucky figure seems to use much of the same body mold as the Young Avengers' Patriot figure; if so, it looks much better on Eli. This figure is, well, scrawny and gangly, with a tiny head and sloped shoulders, and not athletic at all. Yes, he's supposed to be a kid, but he's also about as tall as the Cap figure, so the proportion is way off. (I suppose I'm disappointed, in part, because I figure this might be as close to a Winter Soldier figure as I ever get. :)) He doesn't look like the young boy of the Golden Age comics or the fit 16-year-old Brubaker suggests.
On the plus side, the costume isn't bad. And he's decently articulated, including toe and finger joints. He is reasonably posable and playable, although because the figure isn't all that attractive it's hard to find a pose that looks anything like what you'd see in the comics. Still, it's cool that they made him, and I suppose I should hope for the Original Torch and Toro to come out sometime!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Infinite Crisis Action Figure: Donna Troy
I have to say, this figure was a bit of a disappointment. I was so pleased with the Power Girl from this series that I expected more.
The face and hair are great, as is usual for DC Direct figures, which usually suffer with regard to playability rather than appearance. And she's not a bad-looking figure by any means, just sort of...odd. Her legs are very thin, with no discernable muscle tone; I will grant that Donna isn't going to be Power Girl, but she makes a point of keeping in shape (as I recall from an old issue of Green Lantern where she was trying to convince Kyle to do likewise and not rely entirely on the ring). The torso is in one piece, which of course means the waist doesn't turn, but the back has an awfully uncomfortable-looking arch to it. In fact, when you stand her up--or try to, her stance doesn't really permit it--her natural pose seems to be with the chest and butt both stuck out somewhat.
As for playability, she's not so great, but that's all right, it's what I expected. The head turns only a bit because of the hair (a common problem with long-haired figures). The arms are quite posable. The legs are not, the bend slightly at the hip and knee, and the boots rotate.
All in all, I'm thinking this figure may have to stay out of the toy box. Not because of the playability issues (we're used to that), but because she just doesn't seem that sturdy.
The face and hair are great, as is usual for DC Direct figures, which usually suffer with regard to playability rather than appearance. And she's not a bad-looking figure by any means, just sort of...odd. Her legs are very thin, with no discernable muscle tone; I will grant that Donna isn't going to be Power Girl, but she makes a point of keeping in shape (as I recall from an old issue of Green Lantern where she was trying to convince Kyle to do likewise and not rely entirely on the ring). The torso is in one piece, which of course means the waist doesn't turn, but the back has an awfully uncomfortable-looking arch to it. In fact, when you stand her up--or try to, her stance doesn't really permit it--her natural pose seems to be with the chest and butt both stuck out somewhat.
As for playability, she's not so great, but that's all right, it's what I expected. The head turns only a bit because of the hair (a common problem with long-haired figures). The arms are quite posable. The legs are not, the bend slightly at the hip and knee, and the boots rotate.
All in all, I'm thinking this figure may have to stay out of the toy box. Not because of the playability issues (we're used to that), but because she just doesn't seem that sturdy.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Happy holidays!
A good Yule was had by all. Minimates and trade paperbacks for the kids, action figures for mom. :) And way too much food (and chocolate!) and not nearly enough sleep for any of us. I hope you've all had a wonderful whatever-holiday-you-celebrate!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
New on my blogroll
I'm still recovering from the up-all-night Yule, so today you get to read other people's blogs...
The Horrors Of It All
Very cool blog focusing on the old (made before the code) horror comic books. Apparently this is some of what Wertham was talking about. Recent good stuff: The Weird Woman.
Kleefeld On Comics
Intelligent thoughts on various aspects of comicdom. Recent good stuff: Newspaper Strips Kill Comic Industry.
Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine
I'm a sucker for Golden Age material, so this blog had me as soon as I saw the title. Recent good stuff: Shuddering.
The Horrors Of It All
Very cool blog focusing on the old (made before the code) horror comic books. Apparently this is some of what Wertham was talking about. Recent good stuff: The Weird Woman.
Kleefeld On Comics
Intelligent thoughts on various aspects of comicdom. Recent good stuff: Newspaper Strips Kill Comic Industry.
Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine
I'm a sucker for Golden Age material, so this blog had me as soon as I saw the title. Recent good stuff: Shuddering.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Holiday fatigue links
Comic Coverage has a great piece up called Sidekicks Roasting on an Open Fire, about the various torture devices utilized by Golden Age villains.
Lots of non-comic-related discussion lately about the Nice Guy and why he isn't; commentary found here and here and here and here. Now, I have been away from dating for 20+ years (the husband and I met in college, and I never looked back) but it is disenheartening to see this. I don't think it's unforgiveable for a guy to be friends with a girl he is attracted to--plenty of good relationships started out as platonic friendships (the husband and me, for one). But I don't think that happens if the platonic friendship wasn't genuine--if the guy doesn't actually like the girl as a person--in the first place. Relationships aren't like math, they rely on factors other than cause and effect--that's the kind of thinking that gets Reed Richards in trouble, you know. (Okay, Reed's not that kind of a dick (just kind of not so good on the human relations thing, but he seems to be emotionally honest), but even the Illuminati never pulled that sort of passive-agressive crap. You know why? Because it's too evil.)
Comics Should Be Good has a piece up all about Fred Hembeck. When I was a teen, I loved Fred Hembeck, got anything I could find that he'd done. There's really never been anyone else who's been able to do his brand of good-natured comic-book humor, and I kind of miss it.
Lots of non-comic-related discussion lately about the Nice Guy and why he isn't; commentary found here and here and here and here. Now, I have been away from dating for 20+ years (the husband and I met in college, and I never looked back) but it is disenheartening to see this. I don't think it's unforgiveable for a guy to be friends with a girl he is attracted to--plenty of good relationships started out as platonic friendships (the husband and me, for one). But I don't think that happens if the platonic friendship wasn't genuine--if the guy doesn't actually like the girl as a person--in the first place. Relationships aren't like math, they rely on factors other than cause and effect--that's the kind of thinking that gets Reed Richards in trouble, you know. (Okay, Reed's not that kind of a dick (just kind of not so good on the human relations thing, but he seems to be emotionally honest), but even the Illuminati never pulled that sort of passive-agressive crap. You know why? Because it's too evil.)
Comics Should Be Good has a piece up all about Fred Hembeck. When I was a teen, I loved Fred Hembeck, got anything I could find that he'd done. There's really never been anyone else who's been able to do his brand of good-natured comic-book humor, and I kind of miss it.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Qualities of a fan
I was reading this piece by the Ferrett about the ways in which fans (of whatever media or genre) differ from the majority of the people who enjoy that media or genre. It's not comic-specific, doesn't even discuss comics, but there's a lot in there that applies. For example, this:
I don't agree with the entirety of the article, but that first point? Yeah, that's me.
I like impossible-to-follow comic character histories (well, maybe not Donna Troy or Wolverine, there are limits, after all). I like having to know some history to get the full benefit of the story--it makes the comic-reading experience richer. I like the old Legion of Superheroes showing up in JLA; I even like Val and Luornu-1 (Una) in Countdown. I like the obscure stuff, the difficult stuff. Lots of us do; certainly most of us who blog about comics do.
I'll grant that comics don't have the same sort of greater non-fan base as movies or television do. I'll also grant that comic readers probably are made up of fans to a greater degree than they were in the past--that there are not as many casual comic readers (folks who don't follow books or characters, who just pick up a comic now and then if they're in the mood) as there used to be.
It's got to be hell, being a writer or artist trying to please a group of people, most of whom have that sort of intense connection to your product, and few of whom want the same thing. Then again, possibly pleasing the fans has had something to do with reducing the product's appeal to anyone else? In a lot of cases, comics are really no longer accessible to anyone who doesn't already read comics. You often see people talking about how to get their friends into comics, what are the most non-fan-accessible books, because the average comic isn't really for someone who isn't willing to do the work of "learning the language." I think the comic world is more closed now than it was when I was a kid. Perhaps this is a result of declining interest among non-fans, perhaps it's a cause, I don't know. It's likely that this narrowing of the perceived audience contributes to the increasing amount of fan service (of various sorts) you see in books--and the more you cater to a specific group with things that no one else will "get," the smaller the potential audience becomes.
The thing is, if you're aiming at a smaller and smaller group, you're also creating a smaller and smaller group. More than likely, you end up losing more readers than you gain. Now, I love comic books, but I grew up with them, I've loved them for forty years. If I weren't already a fan, would I be inclined to start reading them tomorrow? I don't know.
Because that's where point two comes in, the part where you love them so much you don't notice the bad. I'm easily entertained, I know this. My disbelief is readily suspended. I'm pretty forgiving of all sorts of things when it comes to my entertainment. Particularly when I'm predisposed to enjoy something, as I am with superhero comic books. It's not that I don't do critical thinking, but I don't generally do it to my comic books while I'm reading them, at least not the first time through. It's not part of the fun.
[M]ost fans fall firmly into at least one of two camps:
The very thing that makes this item bad for most people is exactly what they love (overly-convoluted plotlines, unbelievable characters, endless tweedling and riffing on guitars), or;
They’re so in love with the good stuff that they’ll ignore all the bad stuff because OMG, CAN’T YOU SEE THE GOODNESS?
I don't agree with the entirety of the article, but that first point? Yeah, that's me.
I like impossible-to-follow comic character histories (well, maybe not Donna Troy or Wolverine, there are limits, after all). I like having to know some history to get the full benefit of the story--it makes the comic-reading experience richer. I like the old Legion of Superheroes showing up in JLA; I even like Val and Luornu-1 (Una) in Countdown. I like the obscure stuff, the difficult stuff. Lots of us do; certainly most of us who blog about comics do.
I'll grant that comics don't have the same sort of greater non-fan base as movies or television do. I'll also grant that comic readers probably are made up of fans to a greater degree than they were in the past--that there are not as many casual comic readers (folks who don't follow books or characters, who just pick up a comic now and then if they're in the mood) as there used to be.
It's got to be hell, being a writer or artist trying to please a group of people, most of whom have that sort of intense connection to your product, and few of whom want the same thing. Then again, possibly pleasing the fans has had something to do with reducing the product's appeal to anyone else? In a lot of cases, comics are really no longer accessible to anyone who doesn't already read comics. You often see people talking about how to get their friends into comics, what are the most non-fan-accessible books, because the average comic isn't really for someone who isn't willing to do the work of "learning the language." I think the comic world is more closed now than it was when I was a kid. Perhaps this is a result of declining interest among non-fans, perhaps it's a cause, I don't know. It's likely that this narrowing of the perceived audience contributes to the increasing amount of fan service (of various sorts) you see in books--and the more you cater to a specific group with things that no one else will "get," the smaller the potential audience becomes.
The thing is, if you're aiming at a smaller and smaller group, you're also creating a smaller and smaller group. More than likely, you end up losing more readers than you gain. Now, I love comic books, but I grew up with them, I've loved them for forty years. If I weren't already a fan, would I be inclined to start reading them tomorrow? I don't know.
Because that's where point two comes in, the part where you love them so much you don't notice the bad. I'm easily entertained, I know this. My disbelief is readily suspended. I'm pretty forgiving of all sorts of things when it comes to my entertainment. Particularly when I'm predisposed to enjoy something, as I am with superhero comic books. It's not that I don't do critical thinking, but I don't generally do it to my comic books while I'm reading them, at least not the first time through. It's not part of the fun.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
The new Ms. Marvel artist.
So according to the March Marvel solicitations, the new artist for Ms. Marvel is an Adriana Melo, whose name didn't ring a bell, so I did a little search. She is apparently known for Witchblade, which I'm not at all familiar with, but she also did that Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents Parallax thing, the one with the beautifully-done (if a bit overmuscled) Kyle. So I think I'm okay with this.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Superficial thoughts on the New Cap promo [Spoilers, maybe?]
This ("One of these people will be the next Captain America") is up on the Marvel website now, promoting Captain America #34. It's an interesting group, with varying degrees of seems-likelihood.
But none of the candidates seem at all likely to want to take on the role (well, other than the Skull), other than perhaps under duress. SHIELD has WS now, there's some duress for you.
It does seem likely that WS is going to be the new Cap. I'd rather see someone else, and I hope that his run as Cap won't be long, but things do seem to be heading that way.
But none of the candidates seem at all likely to want to take on the role (well, other than the Skull), other than perhaps under duress. SHIELD has WS now, there's some duress for you.
It does seem likely that WS is going to be the new Cap. I'd rather see someone else, and I hope that his run as Cap won't be long, but things do seem to be heading that way.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
What I Want: The March Marvel Solicitations
All solicitations found here.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #36
THE SECOND ACT OF THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA COMES TO ITS SHOCKING CONCLUSION!
The new Captain America fights the Red Skull's minions with Black Widow at his side and chaos erupting all around them! Meanwhile, Sharon Carter, still under the control of Dr. Faustus, makes a horrifying discovery about the next stage of the Skull's plans!
It'd take a lot to knock this one off the get list. It does look like the new Cap is probably Winter Soldier--the cover shows him with brown eyes (which removes Clint Barton from the list of possibles), which is a little disappointing because it seems too obvious, but until I see it I'll have faith that Brubaker can make it interesting. The whole "with Black Widow at his side" thing makes it pretty clear that Tony Stark doesn't really trust him as far as he can throw him, and I'm guessing she'll have him on as short a leash as she can manage. It's a nice cover, apart from the Shiny!!! Cap costume.
THE LAST DEFENDERS #1 (of 6)
At long last, the team book you've been waiting for! The return of the Defenders! (no trademark infringement here!) And look who's on the team: The mutant Colossus! The sensational She-Hulk! The unpredicatable Blazing Skull! An all-new lineup led by the enigmatic Nighthawk! Injected into the heart of the modern Marvel Universe, the Defenders have been reformed to serve a specific policital purpose...but is there a greater destiny in store for this crew? It's hi-octane superheroics mainlined right into your fanboy brain!
This could be cool--I used to like the old Defenders title, and certainly haven't seen Nighthawk used to good effect since then. I also enjoyed the Blazing Skull in the old New Invaders series. So this is on the list, I think.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #10
Iron Man and the Sentry are stuck in the past with none other than Doctor Doom. Any interaction with anything or anyone could jeopardize the future of the Marvel Universe! Can Tony Stark trust Victor Von Doom to help get them back to the present before the Sentry has a complete meltdown? Guest starring the Fantastic Four's ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing!
MIGHTY AVENGERS #11
Get ready to see an Avengers/Doctor Doom knock-down drag-out! And we promise an ending you've never seen in the history of Doom! All this and the Secret Invasion is upon us! Marvel Comics says sayonara to longtime penciler Mark Bagley with this bombastic storyline!
Whoa, this can't be right--two issues of Mighty Avengers in one month? That book's not even a monthly, is it? Heh. Anyway, the story sounds pretty average but there are things that pique my interest, so we'll be getting these.
NEW AVENGERS #39
The Secret Invasion is here! Award-winning artist David Mack brings his amazing talent to NEW AVENGERS to illustrate a major story in the life of Echo! Have the Skrulls infiltrated the Avengers? Is Maya Lopez the only one with proof? Will she live to tell the tale? All this and a major Avengers hook up!
Well, I really don't care about Echo, but I generally like this book, so it's on the list.
MS. MARVEL #25
The record-setting 25th issue is here, and it's super-sized! Is Ms. Marvel on the front lines of the Secret Invasion... or is she part of the invasion?! Brian Reed (CAPTAIN MARVEL) welcomes new series artist Adriana Melo onboard as Ms. Marvel begins her third year of action and adventure!
The thing is, with any major character who is revealed to be a Skrull, there are going to be issues. (I'm assuming, actually, that Carol is not a long-term Skrull agent--mainly because of the cover--although I suppose she could still be impersonated by one in the short run.) I'd hate to lose any of Carol's characterization over the last few years because of "oh, that didn't happen because she was actually a Skrull then!"
MOON KNIGHT #16
“GOD AND COUNTRY,” PART 3
Killing someone who deserves it is easy. The alternative – it takes years of training, mountains of resolve. Moon Knight knows this fact intimately -- and he’s about to face his stiffest test. See, Carson Knowles knows a thing or two about self-restraint himself, but he’s just snapped. The genie is out of the bottle -- and it’s ugly. Enter: Black Spectre.
I'm still getting Moon Knight. Haven't seen a reason not to yet, it still holds my interest. Hopefully it will continue to do so by the time this issue comes out.
MYTHOS: CAPTAIN AMERICA
He may be dead, but now you can find out how the man became the legend! Mythos revisits Steve Rogers’ transformation from a weakling with a heart of steel to the Sentinel of Liberty! From the mind of Paul Jenkins’ and the stunning art of Paolo Rivera comes the origin of CAPTAIN AMERICA!
I'm considering this one, haven't decided for sure yet.
SHE-HULK #27
She-Hulk's quest to re-discover her inner hero takes her back to her old law firm and back to face Tony Stark when an innocent bystander from her previous mission finds himself wrongly accused for murder. Can she put the past behind her?
Okay, this looks decent, or at least potentially interesting. I'm looking forward to comparing Jen's "quest to re-discover her inner hero" with Carol's mission to become the best, at least as it's been covered in her own book. 'Tis the season for soul-searching, apparently.
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #3 (of 6)
Wiccan & Speed: THE LOST BOYS
You're Wiccan, the Young Avengers' resident warlock. Your mother is one of the most reviled, misunderstood mutants in history: Wanda Maximoff, A.K.A. the Scarlet Witch, who's been M.I.A. for months. Even though you've never met her, she's been haunting your dreams lately...With your super-fast twin brother Speed in tow, you set out to find her, unaware that someone else is looking for Wanda, as well. A demon with a mountain-sized grudge against the Scarlet Witch: Master Pandemonium! And guess what? If Pandemonium can't find Wanda to destroy her, he'll happily destroy...YOU!
Yep, getting this one too. Not particularly looking forward to seeing Master Pandemonium again, but it's the Young Avengers!
CAPTAIN AMERICA #36
THE SECOND ACT OF THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA COMES TO ITS SHOCKING CONCLUSION!
The new Captain America fights the Red Skull's minions with Black Widow at his side and chaos erupting all around them! Meanwhile, Sharon Carter, still under the control of Dr. Faustus, makes a horrifying discovery about the next stage of the Skull's plans!
It'd take a lot to knock this one off the get list. It does look like the new Cap is probably Winter Soldier--the cover shows him with brown eyes (which removes Clint Barton from the list of possibles), which is a little disappointing because it seems too obvious, but until I see it I'll have faith that Brubaker can make it interesting. The whole "with Black Widow at his side" thing makes it pretty clear that Tony Stark doesn't really trust him as far as he can throw him, and I'm guessing she'll have him on as short a leash as she can manage. It's a nice cover, apart from the Shiny!!! Cap costume.
THE LAST DEFENDERS #1 (of 6)
At long last, the team book you've been waiting for! The return of the Defenders! (no trademark infringement here!) And look who's on the team: The mutant Colossus! The sensational She-Hulk! The unpredicatable Blazing Skull! An all-new lineup led by the enigmatic Nighthawk! Injected into the heart of the modern Marvel Universe, the Defenders have been reformed to serve a specific policital purpose...but is there a greater destiny in store for this crew? It's hi-octane superheroics mainlined right into your fanboy brain!
This could be cool--I used to like the old Defenders title, and certainly haven't seen Nighthawk used to good effect since then. I also enjoyed the Blazing Skull in the old New Invaders series. So this is on the list, I think.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #10
Iron Man and the Sentry are stuck in the past with none other than Doctor Doom. Any interaction with anything or anyone could jeopardize the future of the Marvel Universe! Can Tony Stark trust Victor Von Doom to help get them back to the present before the Sentry has a complete meltdown? Guest starring the Fantastic Four's ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing!
MIGHTY AVENGERS #11
Get ready to see an Avengers/Doctor Doom knock-down drag-out! And we promise an ending you've never seen in the history of Doom! All this and the Secret Invasion is upon us! Marvel Comics says sayonara to longtime penciler Mark Bagley with this bombastic storyline!
Whoa, this can't be right--two issues of Mighty Avengers in one month? That book's not even a monthly, is it? Heh. Anyway, the story sounds pretty average but there are things that pique my interest, so we'll be getting these.
NEW AVENGERS #39
The Secret Invasion is here! Award-winning artist David Mack brings his amazing talent to NEW AVENGERS to illustrate a major story in the life of Echo! Have the Skrulls infiltrated the Avengers? Is Maya Lopez the only one with proof? Will she live to tell the tale? All this and a major Avengers hook up!
Well, I really don't care about Echo, but I generally like this book, so it's on the list.
MS. MARVEL #25
The record-setting 25th issue is here, and it's super-sized! Is Ms. Marvel on the front lines of the Secret Invasion... or is she part of the invasion?! Brian Reed (CAPTAIN MARVEL) welcomes new series artist Adriana Melo onboard as Ms. Marvel begins her third year of action and adventure!
The thing is, with any major character who is revealed to be a Skrull, there are going to be issues. (I'm assuming, actually, that Carol is not a long-term Skrull agent--mainly because of the cover--although I suppose she could still be impersonated by one in the short run.) I'd hate to lose any of Carol's characterization over the last few years because of "oh, that didn't happen because she was actually a Skrull then!"
MOON KNIGHT #16
“GOD AND COUNTRY,” PART 3
Killing someone who deserves it is easy. The alternative – it takes years of training, mountains of resolve. Moon Knight knows this fact intimately -- and he’s about to face his stiffest test. See, Carson Knowles knows a thing or two about self-restraint himself, but he’s just snapped. The genie is out of the bottle -- and it’s ugly. Enter: Black Spectre.
I'm still getting Moon Knight. Haven't seen a reason not to yet, it still holds my interest. Hopefully it will continue to do so by the time this issue comes out.
MYTHOS: CAPTAIN AMERICA
He may be dead, but now you can find out how the man became the legend! Mythos revisits Steve Rogers’ transformation from a weakling with a heart of steel to the Sentinel of Liberty! From the mind of Paul Jenkins’ and the stunning art of Paolo Rivera comes the origin of CAPTAIN AMERICA!
I'm considering this one, haven't decided for sure yet.
SHE-HULK #27
She-Hulk's quest to re-discover her inner hero takes her back to her old law firm and back to face Tony Stark when an innocent bystander from her previous mission finds himself wrongly accused for murder. Can she put the past behind her?
Okay, this looks decent, or at least potentially interesting. I'm looking forward to comparing Jen's "quest to re-discover her inner hero" with Carol's mission to become the best, at least as it's been covered in her own book. 'Tis the season for soul-searching, apparently.
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #3 (of 6)
Wiccan & Speed: THE LOST BOYS
You're Wiccan, the Young Avengers' resident warlock. Your mother is one of the most reviled, misunderstood mutants in history: Wanda Maximoff, A.K.A. the Scarlet Witch, who's been M.I.A. for months. Even though you've never met her, she's been haunting your dreams lately...With your super-fast twin brother Speed in tow, you set out to find her, unaware that someone else is looking for Wanda, as well. A demon with a mountain-sized grudge against the Scarlet Witch: Master Pandemonium! And guess what? If Pandemonium can't find Wanda to destroy her, he'll happily destroy...YOU!
Yep, getting this one too. Not particularly looking forward to seeing Master Pandemonium again, but it's the Young Avengers!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
What I Want: The March DC Solicitations
All solicitations found here.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #8-5
The Countdown ticks down as storylines converge and collide — a Great Disaster is clearly proving to be unavoidable!
I still like this title enough to keep getting it, but even if I didn't, I suspect the momentum (and hope, which springs eternal) would keep it on the list. My favorite storyline has been Trickster/Piper for most of the run, although I also enjoy the Challengers (more because I like the characters--I've even been researching Jason Todd on Wikipedia!--than because of the story itself), and Mary Marvel's story has been all right although at times it seems to be spinning its wheels.
BIRDS OF PREY #116
Lady Blackhawk has been compromised as an operative — which could leave Huntress stranded at sea! Plus, Oracle must deploy several magic-based operatives to Platinum Flats to subvert a new threat to the world’s computerized infrastructure!
Sounds like an issue with some Zinda in it, which is a plus as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise, I have been enjoying this book even after the creative change, possibly because it has remained fairly similar in tone.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #22
Part 2 of CURSE of THE LOST LANTERNS written by HEROES scribe Chuck Kim continues to reveal the missing time between Parallax’s destruction of the Corps and its survivors struggle against the Manhunters and the coming threat of the Sinestro Corps as Boodikka ponders her future as one of the newly anointed Alpha Lanterns. Can her old allies trust her anymore, what secrets does she hold and why does it mean to Hal Jordan?
Sounds all right. That it's authored by someone who writes a television show I've never seen does nothing for me, but it could be good anyway.
WONDER WOMAN #18
Comics superstar Bernard Chang joins Gail Simone for a 2-part story that will take Wonder Woman to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, but not before the vicious alien race the Khund begin an assault on Earth! But before the invasion can begin, the relationship of Wonder Woman and Nemesis takes a defining turn.
Again, sounds all right. Also, wondering about that "defining turn"... I think that a lot of folks are uncomfortable with Diana having any sort of relationship because, on the whole, her relationships in the past have been so bad. (That and the "no one is good enough for her" thing.) To be perfectly honest I'm not all that clear on her history as it stands these days so I don't know what has and has not been done in that respect. I do have to say that it isn't an aspect of her life that I've missed at all, but that isn't to say that it couldn't be done well. Just that it hasn't been.
Going to wait for the trade:
Salvation Run. I had no interest whatsoever in this one, but it looks pretty good from what I've seen online so I'll probably pick it up.
Raven. Another mini, the thirteen-year-old will want this one. (I'll be getting her the Wonder Girl trade as well, I think.)
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #8-5
The Countdown ticks down as storylines converge and collide — a Great Disaster is clearly proving to be unavoidable!
I still like this title enough to keep getting it, but even if I didn't, I suspect the momentum (and hope, which springs eternal) would keep it on the list. My favorite storyline has been Trickster/Piper for most of the run, although I also enjoy the Challengers (more because I like the characters--I've even been researching Jason Todd on Wikipedia!--than because of the story itself), and Mary Marvel's story has been all right although at times it seems to be spinning its wheels.
BIRDS OF PREY #116
Lady Blackhawk has been compromised as an operative — which could leave Huntress stranded at sea! Plus, Oracle must deploy several magic-based operatives to Platinum Flats to subvert a new threat to the world’s computerized infrastructure!
Sounds like an issue with some Zinda in it, which is a plus as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise, I have been enjoying this book even after the creative change, possibly because it has remained fairly similar in tone.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #22
Part 2 of CURSE of THE LOST LANTERNS written by HEROES scribe Chuck Kim continues to reveal the missing time between Parallax’s destruction of the Corps and its survivors struggle against the Manhunters and the coming threat of the Sinestro Corps as Boodikka ponders her future as one of the newly anointed Alpha Lanterns. Can her old allies trust her anymore, what secrets does she hold and why does it mean to Hal Jordan?
Sounds all right. That it's authored by someone who writes a television show I've never seen does nothing for me, but it could be good anyway.
WONDER WOMAN #18
Comics superstar Bernard Chang joins Gail Simone for a 2-part story that will take Wonder Woman to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, but not before the vicious alien race the Khund begin an assault on Earth! But before the invasion can begin, the relationship of Wonder Woman and Nemesis takes a defining turn.
Again, sounds all right. Also, wondering about that "defining turn"... I think that a lot of folks are uncomfortable with Diana having any sort of relationship because, on the whole, her relationships in the past have been so bad. (That and the "no one is good enough for her" thing.) To be perfectly honest I'm not all that clear on her history as it stands these days so I don't know what has and has not been done in that respect. I do have to say that it isn't an aspect of her life that I've missed at all, but that isn't to say that it couldn't be done well. Just that it hasn't been.
Going to wait for the trade:
Salvation Run. I had no interest whatsoever in this one, but it looks pretty good from what I've seen online so I'll probably pick it up.
Raven. Another mini, the thirteen-year-old will want this one. (I'll be getting her the Wonder Girl trade as well, I think.)
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
I just don't understand...
...why people bother with comic book movies when they could be reading comic books.*
A quote from me, taken from an actual conversation with the husband.
A quote from me, taken from an actual conversation with the husband.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Reason #1 why Captain America is a better mentor than Batman
Say you're a hapless Golden-Age sidekick, and the mission calls for crossdressing.
Batman will make you put on the dress:
while Cap will take that bullet for himself.
Not that he seems all that bothered by it...
Batman will make you put on the dress:
while Cap will take that bullet for himself.
Not that he seems all that bothered by it...
You can find more of the Batman story at Transgender Graphics and Fiction Archive. Neat site. Jimmy Olsen's got his own section.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Comics I can count on.
Cable and Deadpool
Because it's funny! Other characters are funny, too, though, and few have Wade's appeal. Oh, I'm going to miss this one. I'm hoping hard that Deadpool finds a place to regularly appear and soon.
Captain America
Surprise, surprise.
Green Lantern Corps
I've enjoyed this book since before Sinestro Corps--the team aspect, the new recruit thing, the shifting focus between different sets of partners. While I'm looking forward to seeing lots of Guy and Kyle from now on, I'm hoping (and I can't believe I'm saying this) that it doesn't take too much attention away from folks like Natu and Isamot.
Justice Society of America
And yet I'm going to drop the monthly and start picking it up in trade form, what's up with that? Well, I like this book a lot, but it's a mellow sort of like. Which is fine, it's not a lesser like, just different. Good but not an edge-of-the-seater, and will likely read much better when read all at once in a sitting.
Because it's funny! Other characters are funny, too, though, and few have Wade's appeal. Oh, I'm going to miss this one. I'm hoping hard that Deadpool finds a place to regularly appear and soon.
Captain America
Surprise, surprise.
Green Lantern Corps
I've enjoyed this book since before Sinestro Corps--the team aspect, the new recruit thing, the shifting focus between different sets of partners. While I'm looking forward to seeing lots of Guy and Kyle from now on, I'm hoping (and I can't believe I'm saying this) that it doesn't take too much attention away from folks like Natu and Isamot.
Justice Society of America
And yet I'm going to drop the monthly and start picking it up in trade form, what's up with that? Well, I like this book a lot, but it's a mellow sort of like. Which is fine, it's not a lesser like, just different. Good but not an edge-of-the-seater, and will likely read much better when read all at once in a sitting.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Creative differences
When I was a young kid, I barely looked at the credits on my comic books. Oh, I read them enough to know that Stan was Smilin' and Jack was Jumpin' or whatever they were doing that particular month, but straight credits without the personalization? No interest whatsoever. Why would I? From a seven-year-old's point of view, the comics were pretty much always the same regardless of who was making them--the good guys fought the bad guys, and you worried a little but knew they would win in the end even if it took a while sometimes. They always talked the same, pretty much, and they always looked the same, pretty much.
When I was an older kid, I started to notice the art, and could identify artists I particularly liked (George Perez, mainly, in those days, and later Jim Starlin or John Byrne) and be particularly pleased when they were on a book I read. I noticed the difference between, say, John Buscema and Carmine Infantino :). I still didn't notice a lot of difference between writers; although I recognized the names, and although I've always been a reader who focuses on the words far more than the images, it still seemed to me that a good comic writer was one who could tell stories without their work distracting from the final product--whose work would blend seamlessly with what had gone before. That a good writer was one whose writing didn't really stand out. (And it's certainly true that the artists I considered stand-outs did interfere with the flow of the story as I read, in the sense that I'd be reading along, see a particularly neat image of Iron Man's armor reflecting the light, think "whoa!" and stop to look at it.)
These days, of course, people know and can identify writers almost as well as they can artists. Fans are more discerning, know who's good with plots, who's good with dialogue, who's good with characterization. Part of this has to do with the older fan base, I'm sure. Part has to do with the internet, which provides opportunities for folks to learn a bit about this stuff--to put a name to the things that they sort of noticed anyway. (It also provides opportunities to lose one's individual voice, to have one's opinions beaten down by those who disagree, or to take on points of view really aren't one's own.)
I think a lot, though, has to do with it being far more acceptable now for a writer to put his or her individual stamp on a book. It's more acceptable for a book to change with a new writer.
Not that there isn't still a value placed on consistency. Certainly the fans object when an old favorite is given a creative makeover and significant changes result (think of Frenchie), but as far as smaller changes go, changes that are really just a matter of creative interpretation, that's different. A Bendis book is recognizably a Bendis book, and people may make jokes about it, but when you pick one up you know you're going to see characters who actually relate to each other in complex ways. Simone is also known for good relationships, as well as strong characters and a lot of humor.
Thirty years ago, would I have been able to identify particular characteristics of the writing of Roy Thomas or Jim Shooter? Probably not. Partly because, well, I was a kid, but partly I don't think there were as many acceptable writing styles within the industry as there are now. And I think there may have been a greater importance placed on things not changing too much between writers.
The result is that these days there are fans who follow writers just as others follow titles or characters. (I'm not sure when artist-followers started, but it was a while ago.) I'm not a writer-follower in the sense of reading everything by a given writer, but I'll admit that if I'm on the fence about a book, and notice that Ed Brubaker or Gail Simone is writing it, that'll probably push me into giving it a try. That's more than I ever did for any particular artist.
When I was an older kid, I started to notice the art, and could identify artists I particularly liked (George Perez, mainly, in those days, and later Jim Starlin or John Byrne) and be particularly pleased when they were on a book I read. I noticed the difference between, say, John Buscema and Carmine Infantino :). I still didn't notice a lot of difference between writers; although I recognized the names, and although I've always been a reader who focuses on the words far more than the images, it still seemed to me that a good comic writer was one who could tell stories without their work distracting from the final product--whose work would blend seamlessly with what had gone before. That a good writer was one whose writing didn't really stand out. (And it's certainly true that the artists I considered stand-outs did interfere with the flow of the story as I read, in the sense that I'd be reading along, see a particularly neat image of Iron Man's armor reflecting the light, think "whoa!" and stop to look at it.)
These days, of course, people know and can identify writers almost as well as they can artists. Fans are more discerning, know who's good with plots, who's good with dialogue, who's good with characterization. Part of this has to do with the older fan base, I'm sure. Part has to do with the internet, which provides opportunities for folks to learn a bit about this stuff--to put a name to the things that they sort of noticed anyway. (It also provides opportunities to lose one's individual voice, to have one's opinions beaten down by those who disagree, or to take on points of view really aren't one's own.)
I think a lot, though, has to do with it being far more acceptable now for a writer to put his or her individual stamp on a book. It's more acceptable for a book to change with a new writer.
Not that there isn't still a value placed on consistency. Certainly the fans object when an old favorite is given a creative makeover and significant changes result (think of Frenchie), but as far as smaller changes go, changes that are really just a matter of creative interpretation, that's different. A Bendis book is recognizably a Bendis book, and people may make jokes about it, but when you pick one up you know you're going to see characters who actually relate to each other in complex ways. Simone is also known for good relationships, as well as strong characters and a lot of humor.
Thirty years ago, would I have been able to identify particular characteristics of the writing of Roy Thomas or Jim Shooter? Probably not. Partly because, well, I was a kid, but partly I don't think there were as many acceptable writing styles within the industry as there are now. And I think there may have been a greater importance placed on things not changing too much between writers.
The result is that these days there are fans who follow writers just as others follow titles or characters. (I'm not sure when artist-followers started, but it was a while ago.) I'm not a writer-follower in the sense of reading everything by a given writer, but I'll admit that if I'm on the fence about a book, and notice that Ed Brubaker or Gail Simone is writing it, that'll probably push me into giving it a try. That's more than I ever did for any particular artist.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Minimates
This holiday season, both kids expressed a desire for Minimates. The thirteen-year-old has been getting them for years, and in fact objected slightly to her sister's request on the grounds that they'll get them mixed up and that the eight-year-old only wants them because she's not allowed to play with hers. Since the younger one didn't ask for any specific characters, just that she wanted Minimates, it's possible that she is right on that count.
I'll admit that these toys don't appeal to me a whole lot, but they do have a decent variety of characters. Every other one is a Batman variant, but still, a variety. The kids like that the parts are interchangeable--that you can put Emma Frost's hair on the Beast and so forth. And that they can make Lego houses for them to live in. The two-per-pack thing guarantees that you'll get someone you don't want, but that doesn't really seem to be a problem.
So tonight I'm scouring the net for these things, not writing about my comic habit. Wish me luck.
I'll admit that these toys don't appeal to me a whole lot, but they do have a decent variety of characters. Every other one is a Batman variant, but still, a variety. The kids like that the parts are interchangeable--that you can put Emma Frost's hair on the Beast and so forth. And that they can make Lego houses for them to live in. The two-per-pack thing guarantees that you'll get someone you don't want, but that doesn't really seem to be a problem.
So tonight I'm scouring the net for these things, not writing about my comic habit. Wish me luck.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Ms. Marvel #21 [Spoilers]
* Okay, first of all, not a big fan of the Brood. They don't appear all that often, but they still seem overused whenever I see them. So that doesn't make me look forward to the next issue too much.
* Poor Carol, apparently William is going to break up with her officially, or so I assume from "I don't want to do this on your voice mail." You know, it looked like something interesting was going to be done with his character at one point. I hope that's still so.
* I do, however, get a chuckle out of the role popular modern tech plays in Carol's life (but at least she doesn't answer her cell phone in the middle of a fight). Doesn't she have a blog, too?
* A title featuring a single character is always better with a strong supporting cast. Machine Man/Aaron Stack is one of the most recent additions, and a real scene-stealer. That said, I'm kind of curious as to why he wanted a LMD in the first place ("It was my signing bonus. The only reason I agreeed to this Lightning Storm nonsense in the first place.") Or possibly I don't want to know. Then again, I don't really know to what degree Aaron identifies as male.
* And speaking of the supporting cast, something interesting is up with Agent Sum! This, I do want to see how it plays out.
* I am really going to miss this artist. Lopresti draws some pretty, pretty people--he can even make Wonder Man look good. Pretty and competent.
* Poor Carol, apparently William is going to break up with her officially, or so I assume from "I don't want to do this on your voice mail." You know, it looked like something interesting was going to be done with his character at one point. I hope that's still so.
* I do, however, get a chuckle out of the role popular modern tech plays in Carol's life (but at least she doesn't answer her cell phone in the middle of a fight). Doesn't she have a blog, too?
* A title featuring a single character is always better with a strong supporting cast. Machine Man/Aaron Stack is one of the most recent additions, and a real scene-stealer. That said, I'm kind of curious as to why he wanted a LMD in the first place ("It was my signing bonus. The only reason I agreeed to this Lightning Storm nonsense in the first place.") Or possibly I don't want to know. Then again, I don't really know to what degree Aaron identifies as male.
* And speaking of the supporting cast, something interesting is up with Agent Sum! This, I do want to see how it plays out.
* I am really going to miss this artist. Lopresti draws some pretty, pretty people--he can even make Wonder Man look good. Pretty and competent.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Birds of Prey #112 [Spoilers]
This is easily my favorite issue of BoP in recent months, primarily because it features Zinda, who is one of my favorite Birds but who almost never gets much story. In this issue, Zinda skips the official Barda memorial service to remember Barda in her own way--involving a bar fight, a cross-country trip by taxi, and a Hal Jordan cameo appearance.
Zinda's woman-out-of-time characterization means that stories can be told about her that really can't about other heroes. (Speaking of that characterization, it's nice to see someone out of time who spends more time living in her new time than moping about the old one. I'm talking to you, Silver Age Captain America!) While Zinda has adapted well to the new life (and I don't know if that was always the case, or even how she managed to find her way into her future, but whenever I've seen her she's been right at home), she still has that 1940s thing going (by virtue of having been a Blackhawk) where she can get into a bar brawl as a stress-reliever, or become a little recreationally tipsy without someone wanting to stage an intervention. If Bogart could have done it, Zinda can do it. A character rooted in the modern era probably couldn't.
Fond as I am of the character, I wasn't sure that Zinda could carry an entire issue by herself, and was pleased to see that that was not a problem. We don't see a lot of her ordinarily--she spends most of her time dropping off and picking up--waiting in the car, basically--or swooping in to save the day with a neat rescue. Taking her out of that role here, we get to see a lot more of what she can do, and while she likely couldn't hold her own against most of the villains the Birds come up against (she's not that sort of superhero), she's more than a match for just about anyone else. The best thing about Zinda, though, is that she is generally such a light-hearted character, taking as much joy from her new life as she did from her old one, but she isn't stupid and she isn't superficial. Sometimes it seems like some comic writers equate "interesting" with "angst-ridden," and Zinda is proof that that doesn't have to be so.
A fun book. And IMO more genuinely touching than a lot of the other mentions I've seen of Barda's death.
Zinda's woman-out-of-time characterization means that stories can be told about her that really can't about other heroes. (Speaking of that characterization, it's nice to see someone out of time who spends more time living in her new time than moping about the old one. I'm talking to you, Silver Age Captain America!) While Zinda has adapted well to the new life (and I don't know if that was always the case, or even how she managed to find her way into her future, but whenever I've seen her she's been right at home), she still has that 1940s thing going (by virtue of having been a Blackhawk) where she can get into a bar brawl as a stress-reliever, or become a little recreationally tipsy without someone wanting to stage an intervention. If Bogart could have done it, Zinda can do it. A character rooted in the modern era probably couldn't.
Fond as I am of the character, I wasn't sure that Zinda could carry an entire issue by herself, and was pleased to see that that was not a problem. We don't see a lot of her ordinarily--she spends most of her time dropping off and picking up--waiting in the car, basically--or swooping in to save the day with a neat rescue. Taking her out of that role here, we get to see a lot more of what she can do, and while she likely couldn't hold her own against most of the villains the Birds come up against (she's not that sort of superhero), she's more than a match for just about anyone else. The best thing about Zinda, though, is that she is generally such a light-hearted character, taking as much joy from her new life as she did from her old one, but she isn't stupid and she isn't superficial. Sometimes it seems like some comic writers equate "interesting" with "angst-ridden," and Zinda is proof that that doesn't have to be so.
A fun book. And IMO more genuinely touching than a lot of the other mentions I've seen of Barda's death.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Never can say good-bye...
I saw some good advice from Sporadic Sequential about not buying comics you don't like anymore just because you loved them as a kid.
That's something that's been hard for me to get past, due to the large part that nostalgia plays in my love of comics. I can do it, but it usually takes something big to knock an old love off of the get list. Legion of Superheroes, for example, is gone because the characters now are actually different characters from those I grew up with. If DC were to start a book about those characters--some of whom we saw in recent issues of the Justice League's book--I'd add that immediately.
But other than that, hey, so much for feeling bad about dropping Iron Man or Fantastic Four. I'm free!
Okay, I still feel bad about dropping FF. (I'll pick it up again someday, I'm sure.) I'm working on it. The Richards/Storm/Grimm clan were such a major part of my childhood that letting go of them is difficult.
And, you know, if the real Tony Stark ever comes back, I'm open to reading about him again as well.
In other words, I don't really say "good-bye" very well. It's easier when it's "see you later!"
That's something that's been hard for me to get past, due to the large part that nostalgia plays in my love of comics. I can do it, but it usually takes something big to knock an old love off of the get list. Legion of Superheroes, for example, is gone because the characters now are actually different characters from those I grew up with. If DC were to start a book about those characters--some of whom we saw in recent issues of the Justice League's book--I'd add that immediately.
But other than that, hey, so much for feeling bad about dropping Iron Man or Fantastic Four. I'm free!
Okay, I still feel bad about dropping FF. (I'll pick it up again someday, I'm sure.) I'm working on it. The Richards/Storm/Grimm clan were such a major part of my childhood that letting go of them is difficult.
And, you know, if the real Tony Stark ever comes back, I'm open to reading about him again as well.
In other words, I don't really say "good-bye" very well. It's easier when it's "see you later!"
Monday, December 10, 2007
I might add, but I won't replace
First, I read On rearranging the conditions of the test, at Tamora Pierce's blog, about how maybe it would be more useful for comic folks interested in good female characters to go somewhere other than Marvel and DC. I think this is aimed more at creators than at fans (and there's no chance I'll be writing any comic books, or having any interest in doing so! :)) but still had some interesting points for those of us on the receiving end.
Then, I read Give up all this? at Ragnell's blog, all about why feminist comic fans shouldn't have to stop reading mainstream comics and throw all our support behind independent creators. This is pretty close to my own feeling on the subject, other than I'm actually pretty happy, most of the time, with the comics I get right now.
And then I read On comic book feminism at Kalinara's blog, on mostly the same thing only with some examples of how things are changing, slowly but hopefully-surely, at the big two companies.
Anyway.
I'm a pretty big comic book fan. I love my comics, share them with my kids, buy an occasional action figure. My love of comics is rooted in my childhood and I maintain a strong preference for those titles and characters I grew up with, and although I've certainly added to the list since then, the new books tend to connect somehow to the old ones. So, am I likely to stop buying my Marvels? Nope. Doing that would eliminate not all, but a fair chunk of the reason I buy them at all, the long-term connection I feel to them.
And even without the nostalgia factor, I like the comics I buy, for the most part. While I recognize a lot of the...um, less enlightened?... stuff in comics now, I can't really think of a time when it's ruined a book for me. Maybe it's because I'm old and I expect less, remembering the vastly-underused heroines I grew up with. Maybe I'm extra-hard to offend. Maybe I'm a bad feminist (not as in "evil," as in "not very good at it"). Maybe I'm just not all that picky. So, at least at this point, I'm not going to leave for reasons of quality or philosophy because I'm okay with both. I might be okay-er with more change, but really, I'm good.
You know, though, like I said, I'm open to trying new things. (Within the confines of the comic budget, of course.) Someone starts a new company publishing superhero comics with a more feminist slant? I'd look at that, even check it out if it looked good. I can't honestly say that I'd like it better than what I read now. After all, there's the nostalgia factor to consider. But I'm potentially open to adding new comics to my get list. I guess I'll keep reading the reviews. :)
Then, I read Give up all this? at Ragnell's blog, all about why feminist comic fans shouldn't have to stop reading mainstream comics and throw all our support behind independent creators. This is pretty close to my own feeling on the subject, other than I'm actually pretty happy, most of the time, with the comics I get right now.
And then I read On comic book feminism at Kalinara's blog, on mostly the same thing only with some examples of how things are changing, slowly but hopefully-surely, at the big two companies.
Anyway.
I'm a pretty big comic book fan. I love my comics, share them with my kids, buy an occasional action figure. My love of comics is rooted in my childhood and I maintain a strong preference for those titles and characters I grew up with, and although I've certainly added to the list since then, the new books tend to connect somehow to the old ones. So, am I likely to stop buying my Marvels? Nope. Doing that would eliminate not all, but a fair chunk of the reason I buy them at all, the long-term connection I feel to them.
And even without the nostalgia factor, I like the comics I buy, for the most part. While I recognize a lot of the...um, less enlightened?... stuff in comics now, I can't really think of a time when it's ruined a book for me. Maybe it's because I'm old and I expect less, remembering the vastly-underused heroines I grew up with. Maybe I'm extra-hard to offend. Maybe I'm a bad feminist (not as in "evil," as in "not very good at it"). Maybe I'm just not all that picky. So, at least at this point, I'm not going to leave for reasons of quality or philosophy because I'm okay with both. I might be okay-er with more change, but really, I'm good.
You know, though, like I said, I'm open to trying new things. (Within the confines of the comic budget, of course.) Someone starts a new company publishing superhero comics with a more feminist slant? I'd look at that, even check it out if it looked good. I can't honestly say that I'd like it better than what I read now. After all, there's the nostalgia factor to consider. But I'm potentially open to adding new comics to my get list. I guess I'll keep reading the reviews. :)
Sunday, December 09, 2007
More fun with google search terms
Jason/Kyle donna fic
Probably inevitable, but there's none on my site. :)
spanking comics blogs
Now, do we really deserve that?
stop brain freeze from stealing are characters
Assuming that "are" is supposed to be "our," I'd call that an unfair accusation. I suppose it would explain the blog-spanking thing, though.
marvel legends winter soldier
You know, the number of times I've been found via this search string, I'm pretty sure this would sell well. I'd buy one, for sure.
SUPERGIRL SPANKING
Shouting doesn't make it any more likely to appear on my site... You know, I'm getting way more spanking-related search strings than I used to. It's weird.
frenchie is gay
I always thought Frenchie was gay
Topical, even! (And from different IPs yet!)
are heroclix fun?
Yeah, pretty much.
cool things made of iron
...Tony Stark? Maybe not so much these days.
"the cat" tpb greer
Oooh, I'd buy that!
"comics on being nice"
Really? Mostly mine feature a lot of punching.
Probably inevitable, but there's none on my site. :)
spanking comics blogs
Now, do we really deserve that?
stop brain freeze from stealing are characters
Assuming that "are" is supposed to be "our," I'd call that an unfair accusation. I suppose it would explain the blog-spanking thing, though.
marvel legends winter soldier
You know, the number of times I've been found via this search string, I'm pretty sure this would sell well. I'd buy one, for sure.
SUPERGIRL SPANKING
Shouting doesn't make it any more likely to appear on my site... You know, I'm getting way more spanking-related search strings than I used to. It's weird.
frenchie is gay
I always thought Frenchie was gay
Topical, even! (And from different IPs yet!)
are heroclix fun?
Yeah, pretty much.
cool things made of iron
...Tony Stark? Maybe not so much these days.
"the cat" tpb greer
Oooh, I'd buy that!
"comics on being nice"
Really? Mostly mine feature a lot of punching.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
This is a hoot!
This commentary on the art in the current JLA title at Everyday Is Like Wednesday is just about the funniest thing I've read all week. Loved it. :)
Friday, December 07, 2007
Captain America #32 [Spoilers]
As always, an excellent read. I've seen other reviews talking about how things seem to have been slowing down recently in this title, but I'm guessing that this is just set-up for the next more active sequence. I think it's inevitable, unless you're dealing strictly with stand-alone stories, that some issues will be more action-packed than others. I've lost no interest in this story, that's for sure.
I like Sharon's characterization thus far--somehow her internal struggle is made clear without the pages of angst and overkill you usually see in such cases. I also like how we're really not sure just how much control she has at this point--unlike Winter Soldier (who is still impulsive enough to take the shot at Faustus because it was there, rather than being willing to play along and wait for a better chance) she makes a real effort to conceal her mental processes from Faustus. In fact, I'm wondering now whether she has finally been able to break free to some extent--the last time you see her Faustus-created inner voice speak (the white-on-black caption boxes) is just before she tosses Winter Soldier out of the ship--she tells it to "Shut up" and it breaks off in mid-sentence. It doesn't show up again.
Black Widow and Falcon are, as usual, well done. Widow in particular is a joy to read.
Winter Soldier is as well; twice now he has gotten himself in perhaps more trouble than he should have because of his own impatience. It may be that this is situational; if he weren't so emotionally invested in this mission, he might be better able to look at things objectively--certainly when he was a Soviet agent he was able to keep his distance and wait for the moment. But maybe that's one of the differences between WS now and WS then? Maybe that's a skill (being able to keep personal concerns separate from the mission) he no longer has? I don't know. I do know that that sort of lack of control would be a liability in a Captain America.
Oh, and about Tony Stark, talking to the SHIELD scientist about the pregnancy test they found in Sharon's apartment, I had a thought. They are obviously looking at something to do with DNA on the screen, and the main screen in view appears to have info on Sharon's own DNA. The exchange between Stark and the scientist:
Now, what does that mean? Does "positive on both counts" just mean a positive pregnancy test and a positive ID on Sharon as the mom-to-be? Or are they able to tell who the father might be from the test? Seems a stretch, but then this is comic book science we're talking about here. IIRC from earlier issues in this run, SHIELD doesn't keep copies of Cap's DNA on file--when the Red Skull was killed, they had to bring him in personally to check against the body (because the Skull was in a Steve clone at the time). Of course that was Fury's SHIELD. Stark might well have the info.
So, the "positive" seems to refer to whatever seemed obvious but needed to be checked--but as for what that was, I guess we'll have to wait and see.
I like Sharon's characterization thus far--somehow her internal struggle is made clear without the pages of angst and overkill you usually see in such cases. I also like how we're really not sure just how much control she has at this point--unlike Winter Soldier (who is still impulsive enough to take the shot at Faustus because it was there, rather than being willing to play along and wait for a better chance) she makes a real effort to conceal her mental processes from Faustus. In fact, I'm wondering now whether she has finally been able to break free to some extent--the last time you see her Faustus-created inner voice speak (the white-on-black caption boxes) is just before she tosses Winter Soldier out of the ship--she tells it to "Shut up" and it breaks off in mid-sentence. It doesn't show up again.
Black Widow and Falcon are, as usual, well done. Widow in particular is a joy to read.
Winter Soldier is as well; twice now he has gotten himself in perhaps more trouble than he should have because of his own impatience. It may be that this is situational; if he weren't so emotionally invested in this mission, he might be better able to look at things objectively--certainly when he was a Soviet agent he was able to keep his distance and wait for the moment. But maybe that's one of the differences between WS now and WS then? Maybe that's a skill (being able to keep personal concerns separate from the mission) he no longer has? I don't know. I do know that that sort of lack of control would be a liability in a Captain America.
Oh, and about Tony Stark, talking to the SHIELD scientist about the pregnancy test they found in Sharon's apartment, I had a thought. They are obviously looking at something to do with DNA on the screen, and the main screen in view appears to have info on Sharon's own DNA. The exchange between Stark and the scientist:
Stark: You've double- and triple-checked the results, professor?
Prof: Of course, Director Stark. It's a positive on both counts. That pregnancy test was just what it looked like...and forensics comfirmed there were no fingerprints on it but Agent 13's.
Now, what does that mean? Does "positive on both counts" just mean a positive pregnancy test and a positive ID on Sharon as the mom-to-be? Or are they able to tell who the father might be from the test? Seems a stretch, but then this is comic book science we're talking about here. IIRC from earlier issues in this run, SHIELD doesn't keep copies of Cap's DNA on file--when the Red Skull was killed, they had to bring him in personally to check against the body (because the Skull was in a Steve clone at the time). Of course that was Fury's SHIELD. Stark might well have the info.
So, the "positive" seems to refer to whatever seemed obvious but needed to be checked--but as for what that was, I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Ramblings about where to put my comic money
I was looking at some bulletin board somewhere today, and someone mentioned that they were trying to cut back on their DC comics so that they could apply more of their comic budget to independent titles. They were enjoying the books they were getting, but seemed to feel that they "should" read more of the independents.
I think this is interesting. It's another example of something you see occasionally, where comics produced by mainstream companies (which I guess means Marvel and DC), particularly superhero titles, are considered lesser than non-superhero titles produced by non-mainstream companies.
Part of this, I'm sure is the corporate vs. small-business thing. I can see that one, actually--I prefer to shop at small local stores myself when I can. Of course, "when I can" means "when I can get the product I want at each store." For example, if I'm going out grocery-shopping and I want fresh meat, I won't go to the local natural foods co-op because they don't carry it. Buying indies means supporting independent creators, which means supporting diversity and choice. All else being equal, that's a pretty good reason right there.
But a lot of it, I think, is that superhero comics are just lower on the pyramid of comic coolness than non-hero titles. (I am not sure when comics of any sort became cool. I always read them because I liked them. That's still the case. Of course, I've never had any illusions about being cool. :))
I like independent, non-superhero titles. I don't love them the way I love heroes, but I like them. I've read them in the past, but they're not a part of my usual comic reading. Some of this, I'm sure, has to do with living somewhere without a comic shop--I imagine if I went into town once a week to get my comics, to a store where I could actually see what I'd be buying ahead of time, or have something new catch my eye, I'd be more likely to pick up that something new. As it is, ordering them online, I tend not to.
A greater part probably has to do with money--like just about everyone else, my comic book budget is finite (and if yours isn't, I don't really want to hear about it), and I spend it where I am reasonably sure I'll like what I get. More expensive comics make readers less willing to try new things? Possibly in general, definitely in my own case.
Part is that I don't tend to seek out slice-of-life stories in any media, anyway (movies, novels, television)--I like mysteries, science fiction, horror, history. Well, I guess that's a personal limitation there, and it only keeps me away from some of the indies in any case. I occasionally watch a chick flick or a moving drama, but not often, and more likely if it was made before 1960 (Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck can make even the sappiest story palatable).
Part is that you really don't see superhero stories in other media, but you do see other sorts of stories there--there's less need to seek out mysteries and so forth outside of movies and novels.
Part is, yes, the nostalgia factor; maybe if I'd read Archie or Donald Duck as a kid, that'd be what I want now, but it wasn't and I don't.
And part is that, well, I just really like superhero stories. I don't think that this necessarily means that my taste is immature (although it might :))--I don't only read comic books, after all--but I don't think that I "should" read other things instead, or that I ought to replace my superhero titles with something more adult.
So if I had more access to different comic books, or more money in my comic budget, would I buy more independents? Maybe. With more money I'd probably start off buying more superhero titles, to be perfectly honest. But with more information, and the ability to flip through a book before deciding whether or not to buy it, yeah, I'd probably get a wider variety of comics. I do read reviews of independent titles. (Never would have known to get Action Philosophers without them, and that was a lot of fun.) I do like the comic medium, the whole word and picture thing.
However, I suspect that I'd be more likely to buy them as trades than as floppies. And I'd be more likely to buy them if they're ongoing titles featuring the same characters over a long period of time rather than single storylines--I like to become invested in my episodic fiction :).
So, in theory I'm open to new things. In actuality, probably not so much (due primarily but not entirely to practical matters).
I think this is interesting. It's another example of something you see occasionally, where comics produced by mainstream companies (which I guess means Marvel and DC), particularly superhero titles, are considered lesser than non-superhero titles produced by non-mainstream companies.
Part of this, I'm sure is the corporate vs. small-business thing. I can see that one, actually--I prefer to shop at small local stores myself when I can. Of course, "when I can" means "when I can get the product I want at each store." For example, if I'm going out grocery-shopping and I want fresh meat, I won't go to the local natural foods co-op because they don't carry it. Buying indies means supporting independent creators, which means supporting diversity and choice. All else being equal, that's a pretty good reason right there.
But a lot of it, I think, is that superhero comics are just lower on the pyramid of comic coolness than non-hero titles. (I am not sure when comics of any sort became cool. I always read them because I liked them. That's still the case. Of course, I've never had any illusions about being cool. :))
I like independent, non-superhero titles. I don't love them the way I love heroes, but I like them. I've read them in the past, but they're not a part of my usual comic reading. Some of this, I'm sure, has to do with living somewhere without a comic shop--I imagine if I went into town once a week to get my comics, to a store where I could actually see what I'd be buying ahead of time, or have something new catch my eye, I'd be more likely to pick up that something new. As it is, ordering them online, I tend not to.
A greater part probably has to do with money--like just about everyone else, my comic book budget is finite (and if yours isn't, I don't really want to hear about it), and I spend it where I am reasonably sure I'll like what I get. More expensive comics make readers less willing to try new things? Possibly in general, definitely in my own case.
Part is that I don't tend to seek out slice-of-life stories in any media, anyway (movies, novels, television)--I like mysteries, science fiction, horror, history. Well, I guess that's a personal limitation there, and it only keeps me away from some of the indies in any case. I occasionally watch a chick flick or a moving drama, but not often, and more likely if it was made before 1960 (Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck can make even the sappiest story palatable).
Part is that you really don't see superhero stories in other media, but you do see other sorts of stories there--there's less need to seek out mysteries and so forth outside of movies and novels.
Part is, yes, the nostalgia factor; maybe if I'd read Archie or Donald Duck as a kid, that'd be what I want now, but it wasn't and I don't.
And part is that, well, I just really like superhero stories. I don't think that this necessarily means that my taste is immature (although it might :))--I don't only read comic books, after all--but I don't think that I "should" read other things instead, or that I ought to replace my superhero titles with something more adult.
So if I had more access to different comic books, or more money in my comic budget, would I buy more independents? Maybe. With more money I'd probably start off buying more superhero titles, to be perfectly honest. But with more information, and the ability to flip through a book before deciding whether or not to buy it, yeah, I'd probably get a wider variety of comics. I do read reviews of independent titles. (Never would have known to get Action Philosophers without them, and that was a lot of fun.) I do like the comic medium, the whole word and picture thing.
However, I suspect that I'd be more likely to buy them as trades than as floppies. And I'd be more likely to buy them if they're ongoing titles featuring the same characters over a long period of time rather than single storylines--I like to become invested in my episodic fiction :).
So, in theory I'm open to new things. In actuality, probably not so much (due primarily but not entirely to practical matters).
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
A few recent links
This article at Dave's Long Box about the 1970s Tony Stark is one of the funniest things I've read all week. Seriously, I was laughing out loud, and the internet almost never makes me do that. Because this is also my absolute all-time favorite Iron Man era, and one that very much formed my understanding of the character. I guess that explains a lot. :)
Snap Judgments wants to know where you read your comics. Personally, these days I read mine in the recliner with the nice lamp. :)
I Draw Comics discusses Stan's Vs. Jack's Sue Storm in some detail--an interesting piece which will inspire me to get out my old comics and look for this sort of narrative discrepancy.
Snap Judgments wants to know where you read your comics. Personally, these days I read mine in the recliner with the nice lamp. :)
I Draw Comics discusses Stan's Vs. Jack's Sue Storm in some detail--an interesting piece which will inspire me to get out my old comics and look for this sort of narrative discrepancy.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
More thoughts on the Spider-marriage
Occasional Superheroine has a thought-provoking post on marriage and heroism that...provoked some thoughts? :)
Actually, some of my thoughts were provoked less by the piece itself (which on the whole makes some good points) than by some of the commentary focusing on whether religion is necessary for ethical behavior, either on a personal or a cultural level. My own sense is that it is not--certainly there are atheists who use the concept of "there is no god!" to excuse bad behavior (I haven't seen it myself, not knowing that many atheists IRL, but I have no problem believing that it happens because some people are just like that :)), but there are religious people who manage to twist their religious convictions to do the same thing. Human beings are highly skilled at rationalizing what they do regardless of their worldview. Most religions promote good behavior, but so does simple observation of how the world works--for example, the concept of reciprocity (you tend to get what you give) is one that's easy enough to grasp.
But anyway.
I don't read any of the Spider-Man comics and don't intend to start, so all I'll ever know about this is what I read on the internet. I was sorry to hear about the potentially-impending end of the Spider-marriage, and particularly the circumstances surrounding it, which seem a bit of a stretch.
(To be honest, I've never really thought of Mephisto as a devil-analogue, although I know that's what he is supposed to be--to me, he's just a villain with some more-or-less theological associations. I don't think of comic book Thor as a real representation of god Thor, either. More important in most of the Mephisto stories I've read have been the literary associations--the deal-with-the-devil stories, the hero-as-Faust stories--that appear to be the maybe-basis for the upcoming Spider-story.)
As for why they're doing this (if indeed they are)... Maybe I've been lucky. I've never thought of marriage as work--I've found that if you like your spouse and you both genuinely care about what's best for each other, it's pretty easy to be married. In fact, before the kids came along, there really wasn't a lot of difference (other than living in the same house) between how my husband and I were as a dating couple and how we were as a married couple. So my impression is that the only real stories you can't tell about a married Peter that you could tell about a single Peter are pretty much the ones that involved his relationships with other women. Is that really that important?
Actually, some of my thoughts were provoked less by the piece itself (which on the whole makes some good points) than by some of the commentary focusing on whether religion is necessary for ethical behavior, either on a personal or a cultural level. My own sense is that it is not--certainly there are atheists who use the concept of "there is no god!" to excuse bad behavior (I haven't seen it myself, not knowing that many atheists IRL, but I have no problem believing that it happens because some people are just like that :)), but there are religious people who manage to twist their religious convictions to do the same thing. Human beings are highly skilled at rationalizing what they do regardless of their worldview. Most religions promote good behavior, but so does simple observation of how the world works--for example, the concept of reciprocity (you tend to get what you give) is one that's easy enough to grasp.
But anyway.
I don't read any of the Spider-Man comics and don't intend to start, so all I'll ever know about this is what I read on the internet. I was sorry to hear about the potentially-impending end of the Spider-marriage, and particularly the circumstances surrounding it, which seem a bit of a stretch.
(To be honest, I've never really thought of Mephisto as a devil-analogue, although I know that's what he is supposed to be--to me, he's just a villain with some more-or-less theological associations. I don't think of comic book Thor as a real representation of god Thor, either. More important in most of the Mephisto stories I've read have been the literary associations--the deal-with-the-devil stories, the hero-as-Faust stories--that appear to be the maybe-basis for the upcoming Spider-story.)
As for why they're doing this (if indeed they are)... Maybe I've been lucky. I've never thought of marriage as work--I've found that if you like your spouse and you both genuinely care about what's best for each other, it's pretty easy to be married. In fact, before the kids came along, there really wasn't a lot of difference (other than living in the same house) between how my husband and I were as a dating couple and how we were as a married couple. So my impression is that the only real stories you can't tell about a married Peter that you could tell about a single Peter are pretty much the ones that involved his relationships with other women. Is that really that important?
Monday, December 03, 2007
Thoughts on Moon Knight's Frenchie
While surfing the net I came across this article on gay comic characters, a topic I don't have a lot of expertise on. However, the two main books cited in the piece (Moon Knight and Young Avengers) are favorites of mine.
I'm not going to address the article as a whole. What I did want to say, though, is that I think there was a narrative purpose to portraying Frenchie as gay in the current Moon Knight title. I don't know whether any mention was made of his sexuality in the original series (I still haven't read that Essentials volume :))--whether he had a girlfriend, or went on dates with women*--so I don't know whether the portrayal conflicts with any earlier representation. But I think the purpose was to illustrate how dysfunctional Mark's relationships were and how little he knew about his friends and colleagues beyond what had to do with him, personally.
Remember the scene with Marlene, where he tries to convince her that she should come back to him because it was what he wanted? And was annoyed that that wasn't enough for her? He literally could not understand the difference between what he felt for her and what he wanted from her. BTW, Mark is exactly the kind of boyfriend you'd tell your friends to run away screaming from, isn't he? :)
Mark had known Frenchie for years, and the subject had never come up. I don't think Mark cared about Frenchie's sexuality in either sense--he didn't really mind it (other than being a bit offended at first that Frenchie had never told him directly), but he really didn't care about it in the same sense that he really didn't care about anything else to do with Frenchie if it didn't concern him directly. It was a way to underscore Mark's essential self-centeredness. It could have been done by means of something other than Frenchie being gay, but it would have had to have been some other significant personal fact that Mark was unaware of--something that most friends who had known each other that well for that long would have known--to have had the same impact.
* I do understand that there is reason to object when a hero or other character who was historically presented in one way is taken into the modern era and presented in another way. But people do change over time--there are plenty of men and women in the real world who don't realize their sexuality until they're in their 30s or 40s or beyond. I don't get the impression that that was intended to be the case with Frenchie, just saying that such a change is surely within the realm of reality.
I'm not going to address the article as a whole. What I did want to say, though, is that I think there was a narrative purpose to portraying Frenchie as gay in the current Moon Knight title. I don't know whether any mention was made of his sexuality in the original series (I still haven't read that Essentials volume :))--whether he had a girlfriend, or went on dates with women*--so I don't know whether the portrayal conflicts with any earlier representation. But I think the purpose was to illustrate how dysfunctional Mark's relationships were and how little he knew about his friends and colleagues beyond what had to do with him, personally.
Remember the scene with Marlene, where he tries to convince her that she should come back to him because it was what he wanted? And was annoyed that that wasn't enough for her? He literally could not understand the difference between what he felt for her and what he wanted from her. BTW, Mark is exactly the kind of boyfriend you'd tell your friends to run away screaming from, isn't he? :)
Mark had known Frenchie for years, and the subject had never come up. I don't think Mark cared about Frenchie's sexuality in either sense--he didn't really mind it (other than being a bit offended at first that Frenchie had never told him directly), but he really didn't care about it in the same sense that he really didn't care about anything else to do with Frenchie if it didn't concern him directly. It was a way to underscore Mark's essential self-centeredness. It could have been done by means of something other than Frenchie being gay, but it would have had to have been some other significant personal fact that Mark was unaware of--something that most friends who had known each other that well for that long would have known--to have had the same impact.
* I do understand that there is reason to object when a hero or other character who was historically presented in one way is taken into the modern era and presented in another way. But people do change over time--there are plenty of men and women in the real world who don't realize their sexuality until they're in their 30s or 40s or beyond. I don't get the impression that that was intended to be the case with Frenchie, just saying that such a change is surely within the realm of reality.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
The latest google-isms
A busy weekend means time to look over the latest from Statcounter. :)
carol danvers feminist
ms marvel at modok's feet
I'm guessing that these two did not come from the same individual.
spanked boy comic
Now, that's more like it! :)
spraypainting naked
I do not think I was what this person was looking for.
the loves of tony stark
You know, I would buy that book--a history of Tony Stark's love life could be a lot of fun.
fangirl symptoms
No comment.
"mary marvel" feminist
Um, no?
deadpool comics hilarious
Yes, they are!
speed wiccan
I would also buy that comic. :)
carol danvers feminist
ms marvel at modok's feet
I'm guessing that these two did not come from the same individual.
spanked boy comic
Now, that's more like it! :)
spraypainting naked
I do not think I was what this person was looking for.
the loves of tony stark
You know, I would buy that book--a history of Tony Stark's love life could be a lot of fun.
fangirl symptoms
No comment.
"mary marvel" feminist
Um, no?
deadpool comics hilarious
Yes, they are!
speed wiccan
I would also buy that comic. :)
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Fiction and the fan
I don't read fan fiction. Not for comics, not for movies, not for television. I think it's fine that people write it, and I certainly have no objection to folks building personally on an existing cultural mythology in that way, but for me, if it's not explicitly "canon"--in the sense that anyone who read/viewed the original material would know it--it doesn't appeal to me. (Hell, I don't even like the Ultimate universe, and historically I dislike DC's Elseworlds, although I suppose I might change my mind on that given their shiny new Multiverse.)
It has nothing to do with quality. I've read fan fiction, generally at someone else's request ("hey, I just wrote this, would you take a look?"), and some of it is very good, has plotting and characterization the equal of what you'd find in a comic you bought or a television show you watched. That's not the point.
Of course there is some execrable fan fiction as well, and while comics and movies and television can be execrable as well, when fan fiction is bad, it is often bad in its own particular ways, ways that point to the fact that this sort of fan fiction really isn't about the story--it's about authorial fantasy fulfillment. For example, characters act oddly or are put into situations clearly aimed at getting them to do something out of character. And that's fine. I won't be reading it ('course I won't be reading the good stuff either :)) but it's fine--plenty of people love it, to each their own, live and let live, right?
Occasionally, though, you read or view something that makes you wonder whether the writer is also a fan. One assumes, of course, that many comic writers are also fans--why would you seek employment in that field unless you had some sort of appreciation for at least the general medium? But one also assumes that if someone is getting paid to write a story, they are writing it for others, not in order to bring their own personal fan sense to paper (or film, or video), or to cater to particular fan preferences they may be aware of without regard for existing history or characterization, and with a certain amount of objectivity with regard to the story working.
And I'm not going to point to any specific instances within comics because I'm not writing this where my comics are, so I don't have them available to cite. (I will say that I've been watching Torchwood lately, and I like it a lot overall, but occasionally they'll have a moment where I wonder just who that bit was written for.) But that thing you see sometimes, where someone comments positively on some bit from a comic, saying that the writer must surely have been reading the internet--that's not a good thing. We don't like it when a comic writer does their darnedest to bring things back in line with whatever comic era they grew up with or eliminates a character based on personal dislike, we don't like it when a comic clearly caters to a particular subgroup of fans to the detriment of the story, and we shouldn't like it when our own preferences are given too much weight either.
It has nothing to do with quality. I've read fan fiction, generally at someone else's request ("hey, I just wrote this, would you take a look?"), and some of it is very good, has plotting and characterization the equal of what you'd find in a comic you bought or a television show you watched. That's not the point.
Of course there is some execrable fan fiction as well, and while comics and movies and television can be execrable as well, when fan fiction is bad, it is often bad in its own particular ways, ways that point to the fact that this sort of fan fiction really isn't about the story--it's about authorial fantasy fulfillment. For example, characters act oddly or are put into situations clearly aimed at getting them to do something out of character. And that's fine. I won't be reading it ('course I won't be reading the good stuff either :)) but it's fine--plenty of people love it, to each their own, live and let live, right?
Occasionally, though, you read or view something that makes you wonder whether the writer is also a fan. One assumes, of course, that many comic writers are also fans--why would you seek employment in that field unless you had some sort of appreciation for at least the general medium? But one also assumes that if someone is getting paid to write a story, they are writing it for others, not in order to bring their own personal fan sense to paper (or film, or video), or to cater to particular fan preferences they may be aware of without regard for existing history or characterization, and with a certain amount of objectivity with regard to the story working.
And I'm not going to point to any specific instances within comics because I'm not writing this where my comics are, so I don't have them available to cite. (I will say that I've been watching Torchwood lately, and I like it a lot overall, but occasionally they'll have a moment where I wonder just who that bit was written for.) But that thing you see sometimes, where someone comments positively on some bit from a comic, saying that the writer must surely have been reading the internet--that's not a good thing. We don't like it when a comic writer does their darnedest to bring things back in line with whatever comic era they grew up with or eliminates a character based on personal dislike, we don't like it when a comic clearly caters to a particular subgroup of fans to the detriment of the story, and we shouldn't like it when our own preferences are given too much weight either.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Countdown 26-23 [Spoilers]
You know, I'm starting to feel a little silly about the [Spoilers] thing--I'm pretty sure that I'm one of the last people to read anything I talk about, anyway!
- What the heck is wrong with Donna Troy? Okay, Kyle didn't like Jason to start with, but Donna had been giving him the benefit of the doubt thus far. And now she and Kyle are bonding by making nasty comments about him? My guess is that her reaction had more to do with Jason's attack on...what was his name? The green guy? But if that's the case, I'd have expected her to be more direct in her comments to Kyle--instead we get all this vague "I don't trust him" stuff. I guess I'm complaining because I've developed a certain fondness for Jason (not enough to follow him once he's out of Countdown, but still, a fondness--and I really don't know a thing about what he may have done before Countdown) and I don't think he's a bad guy, although it may well be that he's not the sort of good guy who would work well with Donna. I will say that it doesn't seem at all unlikely that Jason would pull a Batman (and not tell anyone what he's up to), and I guess it's not surprising (since presumably Batman is his main hero model?) that he wouldn't really understand why the others would have a problem with that.
I've gotten used to Kyle being kind of a jerk in this series, which is kind of odd, but I can justify it somewhat by the fact that he's been through a lot, and being thrown into something of an old situation (Donna is around and he's sort of starting from scratch in some ways with the Ion power gone) might have caused some degree of emotional regression. But Donna? She's supposed to be the mature one, isn't she? Yeah, be mad at Jason because he shot her, sock him in the jaw even, that part makes sense. Yeah, she's clearly got reason to be reevaluating her opinion of him. But the "re-Todd" and so forth, though--that just seems off.
- Piper and Trickster. I've seen a lot of commentary on this--whether Trickster's homophobia is being presented in a negative enough light, and so forth. I can't really comment on that, I suppose, but I've certainly had the experience of thinking I knew someone and finding out later that they really were not the sort of person I thought they were, and that seems to be happening between these two--Piper seems to have taken a "don't ask, don't tell" position within the villain community, so he clearly presumes that there will be people who won't approve, but he seemed really surprised at just how homophobic Trickster has turned out to be. Not that Trickster was a good friend, but they seemed like colleagues who worked well together. It's always disenheartening when you learn that someone you thought reasonably well of isn't what you thought--when you learn that they're racist, or homophobic, or dishonest, or whatever other thing is a deal-breaker for the relationship. That seems to be what's happening here.
- Superman Prime. I am tired of Superman Prime. That didn't take very long.
- What the heck is wrong with Donna Troy? Okay, Kyle didn't like Jason to start with, but Donna had been giving him the benefit of the doubt thus far. And now she and Kyle are bonding by making nasty comments about him? My guess is that her reaction had more to do with Jason's attack on...what was his name? The green guy? But if that's the case, I'd have expected her to be more direct in her comments to Kyle--instead we get all this vague "I don't trust him" stuff. I guess I'm complaining because I've developed a certain fondness for Jason (not enough to follow him once he's out of Countdown, but still, a fondness--and I really don't know a thing about what he may have done before Countdown) and I don't think he's a bad guy, although it may well be that he's not the sort of good guy who would work well with Donna. I will say that it doesn't seem at all unlikely that Jason would pull a Batman (and not tell anyone what he's up to), and I guess it's not surprising (since presumably Batman is his main hero model?) that he wouldn't really understand why the others would have a problem with that.
I've gotten used to Kyle being kind of a jerk in this series, which is kind of odd, but I can justify it somewhat by the fact that he's been through a lot, and being thrown into something of an old situation (Donna is around and he's sort of starting from scratch in some ways with the Ion power gone) might have caused some degree of emotional regression. But Donna? She's supposed to be the mature one, isn't she? Yeah, be mad at Jason because he shot her, sock him in the jaw even, that part makes sense. Yeah, she's clearly got reason to be reevaluating her opinion of him. But the "re-Todd" and so forth, though--that just seems off.
- Piper and Trickster. I've seen a lot of commentary on this--whether Trickster's homophobia is being presented in a negative enough light, and so forth. I can't really comment on that, I suppose, but I've certainly had the experience of thinking I knew someone and finding out later that they really were not the sort of person I thought they were, and that seems to be happening between these two--Piper seems to have taken a "don't ask, don't tell" position within the villain community, so he clearly presumes that there will be people who won't approve, but he seemed really surprised at just how homophobic Trickster has turned out to be. Not that Trickster was a good friend, but they seemed like colleagues who worked well together. It's always disenheartening when you learn that someone you thought reasonably well of isn't what you thought--when you learn that they're racist, or homophobic, or dishonest, or whatever other thing is a deal-breaker for the relationship. That seems to be what's happening here.
- Superman Prime. I am tired of Superman Prime. That didn't take very long.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Details, details.
I got a huge kick out of Dick Hyacinth's post on degrees of comic book error--ranging from the obvious (where you can't believe that anyone, much less a comic book writer, would have gotten it wrong) to the obscure (where you probably didn't realize an error existed until you read it on the internet).
Having myself grown up during Marvel's age of the no-prize, I am not all that troubled by most comic book errors (I tend to mentally correct them), but this interests me. It's part of the appeal of episodic fiction, that there exists such a wealth of obscurity that it's hard to keep track of. Like anyone else I have a point where error interferes with my enjoyment of a book, but on the whole I'm fairly easy to please.
But you know, I have to admit that, when I started reading DC a few years back, I found it kind of irritating that all of the bits of DC lore I had learned as a child (I was never a regular DC fan but I did read them occasionally) were no longer valid; this had not been such a problem with my one DC title (Legion of Superheroes back when Crisis happened--Supergirl was only an occasional character there, and the rest of the LSH didn't really change all that much) but it kind of felt like I had studied for the test and then had the text changed on me.
Having myself grown up during Marvel's age of the no-prize, I am not all that troubled by most comic book errors (I tend to mentally correct them), but this interests me. It's part of the appeal of episodic fiction, that there exists such a wealth of obscurity that it's hard to keep track of. Like anyone else I have a point where error interferes with my enjoyment of a book, but on the whole I'm fairly easy to please.
But you know, I have to admit that, when I started reading DC a few years back, I found it kind of irritating that all of the bits of DC lore I had learned as a child (I was never a regular DC fan but I did read them occasionally) were no longer valid; this had not been such a problem with my one DC title (Legion of Superheroes back when Crisis happened--Supergirl was only an occasional character there, and the rest of the LSH didn't really change all that much) but it kind of felt like I had studied for the test and then had the text changed on me.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Disappointing news
According to this article, the company that was making the various Marvel Comics DVDs will no longer be doing so--once Marvel had its own digital comic thing going, they lost their license. I was sorry to hear this--I've got the Avengers DVD, and although it's far from ideal in format, I'm really not unhappy with it. I'm sorry that there won't be more coming out.
I hate to tell Marvel that this does not make me any more likely to want to sign up for Digital Comics Unlimited. It just annoys me. Now, if Marvel decides to amend their service to enable subscribers to keep the material they download--hell, even if they make it a separate deal with a separate pricing plan--that would be fine. But it doesn't look like that's on its way.
It's like when the thirteen-year-old was investigating ways to get music for her MP3 player--she saw that she could do it in two ways. Either she could sign up for a monthly service that gave her more music for the money but which required her to keep the service if she wanted to keep the music--if she dropped the service, she would lose whatever she had downloaded. Or she could purchase music per item, outside of an ongoing service--more expensive, but she can keep them forever. A number of services provide both options, which is nice.
She may be thirteen, but she knew immediately which was the better deal.
So do I. And eliminating it won't force me to the other option, it'll just have me buying none of it.
I hate to tell Marvel that this does not make me any more likely to want to sign up for Digital Comics Unlimited. It just annoys me. Now, if Marvel decides to amend their service to enable subscribers to keep the material they download--hell, even if they make it a separate deal with a separate pricing plan--that would be fine. But it doesn't look like that's on its way.
It's like when the thirteen-year-old was investigating ways to get music for her MP3 player--she saw that she could do it in two ways. Either she could sign up for a monthly service that gave her more music for the money but which required her to keep the service if she wanted to keep the music--if she dropped the service, she would lose whatever she had downloaded. Or she could purchase music per item, outside of an ongoing service--more expensive, but she can keep them forever. A number of services provide both options, which is nice.
She may be thirteen, but she knew immediately which was the better deal.
So do I. And eliminating it won't force me to the other option, it'll just have me buying none of it.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Brief NA 36 thought
The comics arrived today, and the first thing out of the box (well, okay, the third, but higher on the read list than usual) was New Avengers 36. The one with the notorious Wolverine-questions-Spider-Woman-in-the-shower scene.
I've got to agree with the folks who see no problem with it. Honestly, I think Logan just chose the shower because Jessica happened to be alone there. There really isn't any sexual feeling to it. Unlike a previous issue's scene with Echo accidentally walking in on used-to-be-Hawkeye.
And what is it with all the damn Avengers anyway, didn't anyone ever teach them to knock?
I've got to agree with the folks who see no problem with it. Honestly, I think Logan just chose the shower because Jessica happened to be alone there. There really isn't any sexual feeling to it. Unlike a previous issue's scene with Echo accidentally walking in on used-to-be-Hawkeye.
And what is it with all the damn Avengers anyway, didn't anyone ever teach them to knock?
Monday, November 26, 2007
Waiting for the trade, once again
I'm wondering what the comic companies' feeling is with regard to marketing their trade paperbacks.
On the one hand, it seems as if the regular old comics are the ones they want folks to get into the actual habit of buying--the ones where we can anticipate a particular comic being out at a particular time (well, ideally, issues of lateness aside) and plan to look for it and buy it.
On the other hand, once a book is out in trade, it seems like they do plan to keep putting the trades out on that title. (Apart from older stories where they seem to go with specific storylines taken outside of their regular context.) Presumably they want the trade audience to get into the regular-buying habit as well.
Are they considering trade readers and floppy readers to be two separate audiences? Because I know of a lot of comic readers who buy some of each, depending on various considerations. I do. I started buying trades to catch up on books I hadn't read before, and have moved on to buying some of my current titles in that form--ones I like but don't mind waiting for.
I also don't know which is a better money-maker for the companies--do they get more from six or eight issues of a particular title or from the trade paperback of those six or eight issues that eventually comes out?
On the whole, if I'm buying a book in trade form, I'm not in a big hurry for that particular comic. I don't scan the solicits for it, rushing to get it as soon as it's available--I'll wait until I get to a comic store, see what they happen to have in stock, and pick up what interests me. I don't, as a rule, order trades as part of my monthly comic box. (Other than Captain America, but that's the exception--I buy both floppies and trades of that one, because it's both a keeper and an edge-of-the-seater.) What I am saying is that I am not a regular purchaser of trades--I'll get them when I think about it. That's very different from the way I approach buying floppies.
Now, if I knew when to expect the trades out, things might be different. But as far as I can tell, there's no specific timeline provided for that to happen.
It would also be helpful to know not only when, but whether a given title will be out in trade form. Not that I expect to be handed that information--it could be seen as deterring the reader from buying the floppy, if they knew for sure that the title would be available in trade form someday. Just that it would be handy. :)
On the one hand, it seems as if the regular old comics are the ones they want folks to get into the actual habit of buying--the ones where we can anticipate a particular comic being out at a particular time (well, ideally, issues of lateness aside) and plan to look for it and buy it.
On the other hand, once a book is out in trade, it seems like they do plan to keep putting the trades out on that title. (Apart from older stories where they seem to go with specific storylines taken outside of their regular context.) Presumably they want the trade audience to get into the regular-buying habit as well.
Are they considering trade readers and floppy readers to be two separate audiences? Because I know of a lot of comic readers who buy some of each, depending on various considerations. I do. I started buying trades to catch up on books I hadn't read before, and have moved on to buying some of my current titles in that form--ones I like but don't mind waiting for.
I also don't know which is a better money-maker for the companies--do they get more from six or eight issues of a particular title or from the trade paperback of those six or eight issues that eventually comes out?
On the whole, if I'm buying a book in trade form, I'm not in a big hurry for that particular comic. I don't scan the solicits for it, rushing to get it as soon as it's available--I'll wait until I get to a comic store, see what they happen to have in stock, and pick up what interests me. I don't, as a rule, order trades as part of my monthly comic box. (Other than Captain America, but that's the exception--I buy both floppies and trades of that one, because it's both a keeper and an edge-of-the-seater.) What I am saying is that I am not a regular purchaser of trades--I'll get them when I think about it. That's very different from the way I approach buying floppies.
Now, if I knew when to expect the trades out, things might be different. But as far as I can tell, there's no specific timeline provided for that to happen.
It would also be helpful to know not only when, but whether a given title will be out in trade form. Not that I expect to be handed that information--it could be seen as deterring the reader from buying the floppy, if they knew for sure that the title would be available in trade form someday. Just that it would be handy. :)
Sunday, November 25, 2007
What I'm Getting in the Big Box of Comics Next Week
All New Atom 17
So far, just about always worthwhile. I do wonder what will happen to Ryan when the search for Ray Palmer is over--I can only assume that he will be found, although I suppose they might be going for an Al Capone's vault sort of thing.
Avengers Initiative 7
The thirteen-year-old really likes this title, I assume at least in part because it features younger heroes.
Birds of Prey 112
So far we have continued to enjoy this one under the new writer; it's one of few that absolutely everyone in the house reads.
Captain America 32
Of course.
Countdown 26, Countdown to Final Crisis 25-23
Yep. Jury's still out on whether I'll bother with Final Crisis itself. DC's got another Crisis coming up, Marvel's got another Secret Whatever coming up. I suspect that my best policy will be to just keep getting what I know I like anyway. Other Countdown-related items on the list are the Gotham by Gaslight, Red Rain, and Lord Havok and the Extremists books. I am by no means sure of enjoying any of them, but I'm pretty sure they all feature Donna/Jason/Kyle, who I've been enjoying in the main Countdown series, so there's a chance.
Fantastic Four 551
I think this might be the last FF I'll be getting. End of an era, me stopping getting Fantastic Four.
Iron Man 23
It might also be the last Iron Man I've ordered. Not quite end of an era but still kind of sad. I'll still get to see Tony in Captain America, best place to find him right now really.
Justice Society of America 10
This one we're going to start getting in trade form so this might be the last one, but I'm not sure. I really have been enjoying it a lot, but am not anxious enough each month to find out what happens to keep getting it as a floppy.
Marvel Adventures Avengers 18
For the eight-year-old, but I like it too!
Ms. Marvel 21
Still enjoying it enough that it's in no danger of being dropped.
New Avengers 36
Likewise.
New X-Men 43-44
For the thirteen-year-old; I read it too but don't enjoy it all that much.
Scooby Doo 126
For th eight-year-old, who is a major Scooby fan. I generally glance at it but don't really read it.
She-Hulk 23
I am not sure whether I'll keep getting this one, because I am not sure whether I care for the current storyline. Maybe I'll know better after I see this issue. I'll give it a few more months, I think.
Spirit 11
Very likely dropping this one soon. That sounds strange because I liked it a lot, but I'm not finding it as gripping now. Very likely that has to do with me and my own preferences rather than the book itself.
Wolverine Origins 19
Once again, only got it for the WWII Cap and Bucky appearance. I wasn't all that thrilled with the other two I got for that reason, but then I haven't been following the Origins title so don't know any of the backstory, and don't care a whole lot (I like Wolverine well enough but not to the point of wanting to know every detail about him, particularly when so often stories of Wolverine's past tend to be linked with guest appearances).
So far, just about always worthwhile. I do wonder what will happen to Ryan when the search for Ray Palmer is over--I can only assume that he will be found, although I suppose they might be going for an Al Capone's vault sort of thing.
Avengers Initiative 7
The thirteen-year-old really likes this title, I assume at least in part because it features younger heroes.
Birds of Prey 112
So far we have continued to enjoy this one under the new writer; it's one of few that absolutely everyone in the house reads.
Captain America 32
Of course.
Countdown 26, Countdown to Final Crisis 25-23
Yep. Jury's still out on whether I'll bother with Final Crisis itself. DC's got another Crisis coming up, Marvel's got another Secret Whatever coming up. I suspect that my best policy will be to just keep getting what I know I like anyway. Other Countdown-related items on the list are the Gotham by Gaslight, Red Rain, and Lord Havok and the Extremists books. I am by no means sure of enjoying any of them, but I'm pretty sure they all feature Donna/Jason/Kyle, who I've been enjoying in the main Countdown series, so there's a chance.
Fantastic Four 551
I think this might be the last FF I'll be getting. End of an era, me stopping getting Fantastic Four.
Iron Man 23
It might also be the last Iron Man I've ordered. Not quite end of an era but still kind of sad. I'll still get to see Tony in Captain America, best place to find him right now really.
Justice Society of America 10
This one we're going to start getting in trade form so this might be the last one, but I'm not sure. I really have been enjoying it a lot, but am not anxious enough each month to find out what happens to keep getting it as a floppy.
Marvel Adventures Avengers 18
For the eight-year-old, but I like it too!
Ms. Marvel 21
Still enjoying it enough that it's in no danger of being dropped.
New Avengers 36
Likewise.
New X-Men 43-44
For the thirteen-year-old; I read it too but don't enjoy it all that much.
Scooby Doo 126
For th eight-year-old, who is a major Scooby fan. I generally glance at it but don't really read it.
She-Hulk 23
I am not sure whether I'll keep getting this one, because I am not sure whether I care for the current storyline. Maybe I'll know better after I see this issue. I'll give it a few more months, I think.
Spirit 11
Very likely dropping this one soon. That sounds strange because I liked it a lot, but I'm not finding it as gripping now. Very likely that has to do with me and my own preferences rather than the book itself.
Wolverine Origins 19
Once again, only got it for the WWII Cap and Bucky appearance. I wasn't all that thrilled with the other two I got for that reason, but then I haven't been following the Origins title so don't know any of the backstory, and don't care a whole lot (I like Wolverine well enough but not to the point of wanting to know every detail about him, particularly when so often stories of Wolverine's past tend to be linked with guest appearances).
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Belated comic Thanksgiving post.
Yesterday was Thanksgiving, which was cool. Lots of food, way more pie than necessary. Trivial Pursuit with the family. I have a lot to be thankful for in life, the usual stuff, which I won't go into here because it's not that kind of blog.
So, what am I thankful for when it comes to comics?
Brubaker's Captain America, just about every month the best thing I read.
Green Lanterns.
The semi-return of the Young Avengers.
The recent appearances of the old Legion of Superheroes in Justice League, reminding me about what I loved about them as a kid, and reinforcing my decision to drop the current book because it just isn't for me anymore. Which is fine.
Countdown, because I do love the concept of a weekly book even when the execution isn't perfect.
Being able to order my comics online, which makes things so, so much easier for those of us who happen to live in the boonies.
The fact that, although comics are more expensive now than they were when I was a kid, they are also much better quality not only in terms of the writing and the art but in terms of the actual product. Can't complain too much about that.
The comic fan community on the net. Which is to say, you guys. :)
So, what am I thankful for when it comes to comics?
Brubaker's Captain America, just about every month the best thing I read.
Green Lanterns.
The semi-return of the Young Avengers.
The recent appearances of the old Legion of Superheroes in Justice League, reminding me about what I loved about them as a kid, and reinforcing my decision to drop the current book because it just isn't for me anymore. Which is fine.
Countdown, because I do love the concept of a weekly book even when the execution isn't perfect.
Being able to order my comics online, which makes things so, so much easier for those of us who happen to live in the boonies.
The fact that, although comics are more expensive now than they were when I was a kid, they are also much better quality not only in terms of the writing and the art but in terms of the actual product. Can't complain too much about that.
The comic fan community on the net. Which is to say, you guys. :)
Friday, November 23, 2007
What I Want" The February Marvel Solicitations
CAPTAIN AMERICA #35
THE NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA FIGHTS FOR THE HEART OF HIS COUNTRY IN A CITY GONE INSANE!
Last issue was just the tip of the iceberg, as the Red Skull's master plan kicks into motion, and chaos begins to take hold of the US, with only one man to stand in its way, but is he up to the task?
Of course I want this, top of the list as usual. But the blurbs don't help any, you know. "In a city gone insane!" would not make me want a book I didn't want already, and neither would the promise of chaos. But yeah, want.
MS. MARVEL #24
Brian Reed and Aaron Lopresti break the record set by Ms. Marvel's original series by reaching the twenty-fourth issue (cue fireworks)...and they do it in style! On Monster Island, surrounded by thousands of Brood, Carol Danvers regains her long lost Binary abilities...but the price may be her life!
Monster Island sounds interesting, the Brood do not, but Carol generally holds my interest. Besides, the thirteen-year-old would be thrilled if Carol became Binary again, so I'm getting.
MOON KNIGHT #15
“GOD AND COUNTRY,” PART 2
With Moon Knight leaving a trail of broken bodies in his wake, Tony Stark has one question on his mind: How the hell did this psycho get a Registration Card? But by the time Stark uncovers the truth, it might very well be too late. For Khonshu has great expectations of his avatar -- he wants the streets washed with blood, and what Khonshu wants, he usually gets.
Yes, indeed, I still want Moon Knight--they're changing writers but I'll see how it goes.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #9
DOCTOR DOOM!! The Avengers invade Latveria to take down Doctor Doom for his chemical attack on America. Only maybe it wasn't Doom exactly. It’s wall-to-wall mayhem as Mark Bagley joins Avengers writer Bendis in this globe–trotting spectacle filled with hints about next year’s SECRET INVASION!
Okay, the book sounds all right, just hope there's enough story in the now, as opposed to leads for Secret Invasion.
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #2 (of 6)
Teddy Altman thought he was just an average teenager with super strength and the ability to shapeshift. Then he discovered he was the son of a Skrull Princess and the Kree's most famed hero - Captain Marvel. Writer Brian Reed (CAPTAIN MARVEL, NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI) and Harvey Tolibao (IRON MAN ANNUAL, STAR WARS) bring you the tale of the Hulkling's first meeting with the father he never knew.
Again, of course I want this. Partly because I've pretty much given up on the likelihood of seeing the YA regular book come back, ever.
NEW AVENGERS #38
The break up! CONSPIRACY, PARANOIA, BETRAYAL may have taken their toll on the Avengers newlyweds Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. After the shocking turn of events at the end of last month's NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL, has Jessica Jones turned her back on THE AVENGERS? Who better to help tell this story than Alias artist Michael Gaydos returning to Marvel for this special issue. Guest-Starring the Mighty Avengers. WHO DO YOU TRUST?
Sounds a lot more interesting than Mighty Avengers.
SHE-HULK #26
THE WHOLE HERO THING Conclusion!
As the battle between an Alien Bounty Hunter and an Intergalactic Fugitive rages on around them, She-Hulk and her new partner must try to defend the innocent lives caught in the crossfire. Finally, Jen will re-learn what it means to be a hero – at a terrible cost.
I hope this is better than it sounds, because if not I'll be dropping another book. We'll see.
CABLE & DEADPOOL #50
SERIES FINALE! Alien symbiotes plus dinosaurs equals what? A threat unlike anything you've ever seen! The dreaded VENOM SYMBIOTE has multiplied, and made some new friends of the prehistoric variety, giving the Merc with a Mouth his final opportunity to prove himself the ultimate hero -- or the ultimate villain! Guest staring SPIDER-MAN! The FANTASTIC FOUR! The MIGHTY AVENGERS! And of course, those lovable goons from AGENCY X!
*sniff* This is so sad, the end of Cable and Deadpool. All I want to know is where can I find Deadpool after this? (As for Cable, the caring is a good deal less.
THE NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA FIGHTS FOR THE HEART OF HIS COUNTRY IN A CITY GONE INSANE!
Last issue was just the tip of the iceberg, as the Red Skull's master plan kicks into motion, and chaos begins to take hold of the US, with only one man to stand in its way, but is he up to the task?
Of course I want this, top of the list as usual. But the blurbs don't help any, you know. "In a city gone insane!" would not make me want a book I didn't want already, and neither would the promise of chaos. But yeah, want.
MS. MARVEL #24
Brian Reed and Aaron Lopresti break the record set by Ms. Marvel's original series by reaching the twenty-fourth issue (cue fireworks)...and they do it in style! On Monster Island, surrounded by thousands of Brood, Carol Danvers regains her long lost Binary abilities...but the price may be her life!
Monster Island sounds interesting, the Brood do not, but Carol generally holds my interest. Besides, the thirteen-year-old would be thrilled if Carol became Binary again, so I'm getting.
MOON KNIGHT #15
“GOD AND COUNTRY,” PART 2
With Moon Knight leaving a trail of broken bodies in his wake, Tony Stark has one question on his mind: How the hell did this psycho get a Registration Card? But by the time Stark uncovers the truth, it might very well be too late. For Khonshu has great expectations of his avatar -- he wants the streets washed with blood, and what Khonshu wants, he usually gets.
Yes, indeed, I still want Moon Knight--they're changing writers but I'll see how it goes.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #9
DOCTOR DOOM!! The Avengers invade Latveria to take down Doctor Doom for his chemical attack on America. Only maybe it wasn't Doom exactly. It’s wall-to-wall mayhem as Mark Bagley joins Avengers writer Bendis in this globe–trotting spectacle filled with hints about next year’s SECRET INVASION!
Okay, the book sounds all right, just hope there's enough story in the now, as opposed to leads for Secret Invasion.
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #2 (of 6)
Teddy Altman thought he was just an average teenager with super strength and the ability to shapeshift. Then he discovered he was the son of a Skrull Princess and the Kree's most famed hero - Captain Marvel. Writer Brian Reed (CAPTAIN MARVEL, NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI) and Harvey Tolibao (IRON MAN ANNUAL, STAR WARS) bring you the tale of the Hulkling's first meeting with the father he never knew.
Again, of course I want this. Partly because I've pretty much given up on the likelihood of seeing the YA regular book come back, ever.
NEW AVENGERS #38
The break up! CONSPIRACY, PARANOIA, BETRAYAL may have taken their toll on the Avengers newlyweds Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. After the shocking turn of events at the end of last month's NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL, has Jessica Jones turned her back on THE AVENGERS? Who better to help tell this story than Alias artist Michael Gaydos returning to Marvel for this special issue. Guest-Starring the Mighty Avengers. WHO DO YOU TRUST?
Sounds a lot more interesting than Mighty Avengers.
SHE-HULK #26
THE WHOLE HERO THING Conclusion!
As the battle between an Alien Bounty Hunter and an Intergalactic Fugitive rages on around them, She-Hulk and her new partner must try to defend the innocent lives caught in the crossfire. Finally, Jen will re-learn what it means to be a hero – at a terrible cost.
I hope this is better than it sounds, because if not I'll be dropping another book. We'll see.
CABLE & DEADPOOL #50
SERIES FINALE! Alien symbiotes plus dinosaurs equals what? A threat unlike anything you've ever seen! The dreaded VENOM SYMBIOTE has multiplied, and made some new friends of the prehistoric variety, giving the Merc with a Mouth his final opportunity to prove himself the ultimate hero -- or the ultimate villain! Guest staring SPIDER-MAN! The FANTASTIC FOUR! The MIGHTY AVENGERS! And of course, those lovable goons from AGENCY X!
*sniff* This is so sad, the end of Cable and Deadpool. All I want to know is where can I find Deadpool after this? (As for Cable, the caring is a good deal less.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
LInkage
I have spent the day making pies, so here are some links.
Interesting stuff on reading comics online:
Comics: Print Versus Online
Comics: Print Versus Online, Part 2
Interesting stuff on reading comics online:
Comics: Print Versus Online
Comics: Print Versus Online, Part 2
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
What I Want: The February DC Solicitations
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #12-9
With the recent devastation behind them, the new Challengers return to our universe to face their next challenge. Also this month: a returning hero, a surprising future for Pied Piper, and Karate Kid fulfills his destiny.
Yeees, I still want this. Sigh. I still feel like kind of a sap for getting it, too, but what're you going to do? I sure don't want it in trade form.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #21
It’s a desperate race to prevent Sinestro Corps rings from finding new masters! Kyle, Guy and the rest of the GL Corps discover a horrible plan that may affect their own Power Rings when Mongul learns what his recently acquired Sinestro Corps Ring can do!
This sounds promising :).
What I don't want:
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #13
“Thy Kingdom Come” continues! The Justice Society has been tracking the “Heartbreak Slayer” — a mysterious serial killer targeting super-villains — for months. Now, as new members are welcomed into the fold and the Society expands, the JSA will come face-to-face with an evil that threatens the future they stand for.
I generally like this book a lot, but the focus on Kingdom Come has turned me off to it, at least for a while. I've read Kingdom Come. I've got the trade. I have no interest in reading any more of it.
Wow, that's not a lot, is it? Switching to the trades will do that, I suppose. Speaking of which, I noticed that the last issue of the Wonder Girl mini is also out this month; the thirteen-year-old wants it, but is happy to wait for the trade as well.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Missing blog
Hey, does anyone know what happened to the Major Spoilers site? It fell off of my Bloglines, and the link doesn't seem to be working. I do read a lot of blogs, and I don't necessarily keep up with all of them regularly (although I do read 'em all eventually) so it's possible that it's been gone for a while and I've just now noticed its absence.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Context? Context? Anyone?
I've got a couple of confessions to make that might put my query into, well, context.
First of all, pretty much my sole exposure to Plastic Man has been in the old JLA trades. We liked him on the whole. The kids liked him because he was funny, I liked him because there was actually a lot of subtlety to his portrayal in that series. I have no idea whether that's typical, or whether he was a different guy there than he has ever been anywhere else, or what the situation was.
Second...okay, yeah, I'll admit it. Sometimes I read Scans Daily. Mostly for the older stuff, but I'll also look at entries featuring newer comics if I don't happen to get them.
So anyway, someone printed this from a recent Plas appearance, and I'm a little confused. This just doesn't seem, well, right. Eel was hardly an enlightened sort when it came to women. Words like "broad" were just part of his vocabulary. He didn't treat the women (or the kids) in his life all that well, and there's a scene in one book where he impersonates Barda's dress that makes me impressed with his resilience that he's still alive.
But, well, this is tacky.
Plastic Man may have been something of a sleaze, and certainly never a gentleman, but he also had a sort of noir gallantry about him. This actually makes me a little uncomfortable, and I'm really not that easy to make uncomfortable. Possibly this is because he's a character my kids liked a lot (he's designed that way, honestly--stretchy guy who fights crime by changing into doofy shapes and quips a lot), I don't know. I would be interested in hearing whether there's more to the story that would put this into a better context.
First of all, pretty much my sole exposure to Plastic Man has been in the old JLA trades. We liked him on the whole. The kids liked him because he was funny, I liked him because there was actually a lot of subtlety to his portrayal in that series. I have no idea whether that's typical, or whether he was a different guy there than he has ever been anywhere else, or what the situation was.
Second...okay, yeah, I'll admit it. Sometimes I read Scans Daily. Mostly for the older stuff, but I'll also look at entries featuring newer comics if I don't happen to get them.
So anyway, someone printed this from a recent Plas appearance, and I'm a little confused. This just doesn't seem, well, right. Eel was hardly an enlightened sort when it came to women. Words like "broad" were just part of his vocabulary. He didn't treat the women (or the kids) in his life all that well, and there's a scene in one book where he impersonates Barda's dress that makes me impressed with his resilience that he's still alive.
But, well, this is tacky.
Plastic Man may have been something of a sleaze, and certainly never a gentleman, but he also had a sort of noir gallantry about him. This actually makes me a little uncomfortable, and I'm really not that easy to make uncomfortable. Possibly this is because he's a character my kids liked a lot (he's designed that way, honestly--stretchy guy who fights crime by changing into doofy shapes and quips a lot), I don't know. I would be interested in hearing whether there's more to the story that would put this into a better context.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The age of heroes.
I just read this article at the Newsarama blog, all about eternally-young superheroes (and, especially, superheroines):
Put that way, it does seem, as the article states, to be a reflection of the broader trend in media--the heroes and heroines in action movies are also quite young (they may be played by actors in their late thirties or early forties, but the characters are typically youthful--or, if not, exceptional for their age). There's not really any escaping that.
It's possible that this also has roots in an effort to make the stories more believable; while there are older athletes, on the whole it's a young person's game. There's only one George Foreman.
And it's true that, the older you get, the less likely your body would be to recover from the sort of abuse most heroes are given. (I'm no athlete, but I am forty-five now, and about five years ago my left knee decided its job is to periodically remind me of what I'd done to it in a college weight training class twenty years earlier. I can only imagine the sorts of things that would be coming back to haunt a forty-something superhero.)
The only hero I can think of who does seem to feel the effects of his age is Moon Knight--it was kind of refreshing, seeing him barely able to get down the stairs the day after a night's work beating up the bad guys. But Moon Knight is far from typical, and his title has made a point of saying that he and his cast of characters are old, and worn, and tired. Still makes for a good story, though.
There’s this strange idea that people want to read about people their age or younger. This idea that nobody wants to see or hear about anyone over 30. That the audience wishes to recapture their youth and not be reminded that they are growing older.
Put that way, it does seem, as the article states, to be a reflection of the broader trend in media--the heroes and heroines in action movies are also quite young (they may be played by actors in their late thirties or early forties, but the characters are typically youthful--or, if not, exceptional for their age). There's not really any escaping that.
It's possible that this also has roots in an effort to make the stories more believable; while there are older athletes, on the whole it's a young person's game. There's only one George Foreman.
And it's true that, the older you get, the less likely your body would be to recover from the sort of abuse most heroes are given. (I'm no athlete, but I am forty-five now, and about five years ago my left knee decided its job is to periodically remind me of what I'd done to it in a college weight training class twenty years earlier. I can only imagine the sorts of things that would be coming back to haunt a forty-something superhero.)
The only hero I can think of who does seem to feel the effects of his age is Moon Knight--it was kind of refreshing, seeing him barely able to get down the stairs the day after a night's work beating up the bad guys. But Moon Knight is far from typical, and his title has made a point of saying that he and his cast of characters are old, and worn, and tired. Still makes for a good story, though.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
More Spirit movie enthusing
This article talks a bit about the upcoming Spirit movie, and has a pic (but not a lot of other info) about the guy playing the main character. I know nothing about him, but I was glad to see that they aren't going with someone who's either too pretty or too young. I think this guy could look like the Spirit. Will wait to judge whether he can play him. :)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Just one more.
Okay, so I've said that Iron Man is the only comic-related movie that has piqued my interest since, well, since comic-book movies. (Well, the first Superman, but I was a kid then.)
No longer true.
I also want to see the Spirit movie now.
No longer true.
I also want to see the Spirit movie now.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
On being nice
Speaking as someone with 30+ years experience getting what she wants by being nice, I will admit that I'm predisposed to agreeing with a lot of what this article on niceness has to say, particularly the part about it not being enough to tell someone you want something (in whatever tone you choose), you also have to show them how doing it will benefit them. Because, while I do have a lot of faith in humanity, I also know the role self-interest plays in our world--and I know, even personally, that I'll be a lot quicker to do someone a favor if that favor also helps me out in some way. (Because I'm nice but I'm not that nice. :))
And from my own experience with others trying to get me to do what they want, I'll say that, all else being equal, I'm far more likely to respond to the kindness-and-reason approach than I am to the yelling-and-abuse approach. (Of course all else never is equal, and there are always other factors in play, but in theory.)
If someone is angry about something I am doing, I do need to know, but I respond very poorly to being vented at directly. That could be me, of course; I can be sensitive in that way. However, if you've been nice and I've ignored you, please feel free to raise your voice a bit. I have kids, I know how this works. :)
What I'd also like to add, though, is that I think there's a difference between approaching an individual directly about an issue--writing a letter addressing particular issues to a comic company, for example--and talking about it in one's own blog or other informal place on the web. If I want someone to do something for me, and I'm planning to ask them to do it, I'll be polite. If I'm talking with friends about why I want this done for me, or if I'm working out exactly how I feel about an issue, I might be a little grumpier. Which is fine. It's also true that other folks might see what I wrote in an informal setting and have that in mind if and when I communicate with them more formally. That's also fine--if I have a good point, it will stand regardless. It's okay to be mad, and it's okay to express it. And that's actually useful information for others--that people are angry about whatever--but that doesn't have to be the main point of it, and that's usually clear from the context and/or the forum used, you know?
And from my own experience with others trying to get me to do what they want, I'll say that, all else being equal, I'm far more likely to respond to the kindness-and-reason approach than I am to the yelling-and-abuse approach. (Of course all else never is equal, and there are always other factors in play, but in theory.)
If someone is angry about something I am doing, I do need to know, but I respond very poorly to being vented at directly. That could be me, of course; I can be sensitive in that way. However, if you've been nice and I've ignored you, please feel free to raise your voice a bit. I have kids, I know how this works. :)
What I'd also like to add, though, is that I think there's a difference between approaching an individual directly about an issue--writing a letter addressing particular issues to a comic company, for example--and talking about it in one's own blog or other informal place on the web. If I want someone to do something for me, and I'm planning to ask them to do it, I'll be polite. If I'm talking with friends about why I want this done for me, or if I'm working out exactly how I feel about an issue, I might be a little grumpier. Which is fine. It's also true that other folks might see what I wrote in an informal setting and have that in mind if and when I communicate with them more formally. That's also fine--if I have a good point, it will stand regardless. It's okay to be mad, and it's okay to express it. And that's actually useful information for others--that people are angry about whatever--but that doesn't have to be the main point of it, and that's usually clear from the context and/or the forum used, you know?
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Online comics?
The interesting thing of the day is that Marvel Comics is going to be making comic books available online, a selection of some earlier books as well as some of their newer titles, although apparently nothing very new.
For me, this is a lousy idea. I bought myself the Avengers on CD-ROM, the Avengers being my favorite title since time immemorial, but I've only glanced at it since I got it because it's just too hard for my aging eyes to take. That and the total and unforgivable lack of any sort of search function. It's in PDF format, which would be great if it were laid out one page at a time, but it isn't, it's laid out in facing pages, and that means it's too much work to scroll up and down and up and down and so forth (which I need to do a lot of due to the size I need it to be in order to read it at all, thanks to the poor eyesight I alluded to earlier).
But I imagine that most folks are better equipped (eye-wise) to read comics on their computers.
They'll be charging $59.88/year, or $9.99/month, for access to their online archive of material, which isn't bad if the archive is updated on a regular basis and if you're interested in a wide range of their material.
I did note that they will be making the material formatted in both double-page and single-page layouts--or allowing you to read it one panel at a time--which would certainly make it more likely that I'd be interested in it at some point. (Some point when I have a better internet connection, actually, but I'd a least consider it now.) Certainly a more reader-friendly approach.
But I find that I'm considering this as only a potential add-on to my current comic purchases, and not a replacement. I don't really enjoy reading online, not for relaxation--I find it much easier to read off of paper. (Because I'm ooooold! :)) I spend a lot of time on the internet but there are things I really prefer to read IRL.
Like comics.
I also don't like the idea of buying temporary access to the comics, rather than actually having them in your possession--I do a lot of re-reading, and I wouldn't want to have to pay a continuing fee just to be able to do that.
I can see uses for this, just not any that would apply for me personally.
For me, this is a lousy idea. I bought myself the Avengers on CD-ROM, the Avengers being my favorite title since time immemorial, but I've only glanced at it since I got it because it's just too hard for my aging eyes to take. That and the total and unforgivable lack of any sort of search function. It's in PDF format, which would be great if it were laid out one page at a time, but it isn't, it's laid out in facing pages, and that means it's too much work to scroll up and down and up and down and so forth (which I need to do a lot of due to the size I need it to be in order to read it at all, thanks to the poor eyesight I alluded to earlier).
But I imagine that most folks are better equipped (eye-wise) to read comics on their computers.
They'll be charging $59.88/year, or $9.99/month, for access to their online archive of material, which isn't bad if the archive is updated on a regular basis and if you're interested in a wide range of their material.
I did note that they will be making the material formatted in both double-page and single-page layouts--or allowing you to read it one panel at a time--which would certainly make it more likely that I'd be interested in it at some point. (Some point when I have a better internet connection, actually, but I'd a least consider it now.) Certainly a more reader-friendly approach.
But I find that I'm considering this as only a potential add-on to my current comic purchases, and not a replacement. I don't really enjoy reading online, not for relaxation--I find it much easier to read off of paper. (Because I'm ooooold! :)) I spend a lot of time on the internet but there are things I really prefer to read IRL.
Like comics.
I also don't like the idea of buying temporary access to the comics, rather than actually having them in your possession--I do a lot of re-reading, and I wouldn't want to have to pay a continuing fee just to be able to do that.
I can see uses for this, just not any that would apply for me personally.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Love and comics
I just read a piece at Kleefeld on Comics (Love Romances) about whether it's a good idea for a comic fan to seek out relationships among other comic fans.
While I think it's cool to share interests, I think the important thing is that the other party shouldn't be hostile to comics, or look down on them (and you, for your interest).
The husband and I met in college. I was still getting comics at the time, but I didn't have them at school with me, and while I'm sure I mentioned that I read them I don't remember talking about them much with him. He likes comics, will read them if they are around (and boy, are they around!) but I think he'd also be perfectly happy never to read another one. He doesn't mind them, even enjoys them to a point, but doesn't seek them out. More importantly, though, he thinks it's great that I like them, and he's fine with the girls reading them as well. He respects the medium. And he's quite fond of a few particular titles; the girls and I aren't allowed to discuss the latest Cable and Deadpool until he's read it. :)
But we both have a number of interests, many of which we just don't share with each other. You're not about to get me out shooting black powder rifles, and he hasn't a flicker of interest in taking up quilting. The important thing is that we each support the other's interests, and that we have plenty of other interests that we do share. It also helps that we like each other. :)
However, it's possible that, if you really only have one main interest that overwhelms all others--an uber-hobby, so to speak--you really ought to try to find a partner who shares it. :)
While I think it's cool to share interests, I think the important thing is that the other party shouldn't be hostile to comics, or look down on them (and you, for your interest).
The husband and I met in college. I was still getting comics at the time, but I didn't have them at school with me, and while I'm sure I mentioned that I read them I don't remember talking about them much with him. He likes comics, will read them if they are around (and boy, are they around!) but I think he'd also be perfectly happy never to read another one. He doesn't mind them, even enjoys them to a point, but doesn't seek them out. More importantly, though, he thinks it's great that I like them, and he's fine with the girls reading them as well. He respects the medium. And he's quite fond of a few particular titles; the girls and I aren't allowed to discuss the latest Cable and Deadpool until he's read it. :)
But we both have a number of interests, many of which we just don't share with each other. You're not about to get me out shooting black powder rifles, and he hasn't a flicker of interest in taking up quilting. The important thing is that we each support the other's interests, and that we have plenty of other interests that we do share. It also helps that we like each other. :)
However, it's possible that, if you really only have one main interest that overwhelms all others--an uber-hobby, so to speak--you really ought to try to find a partner who shares it. :)
Monday, November 12, 2007
Wolverine: Origins #17-18 [Spoilers]
No, I don't generally get this book. I don't dislike Wolverine, but I don't follow his character either. And yes, I only got these few issues (there should be one more coming next month) because they feature Captain America and Bucky. Because I do follow the character of Winter Soldier.
In fact, it's a Winter Soldier month all around here at our house--Captain America 30 and 31, these two books, and Cable and Deadpool 45, which also features Golden-Age Cap and Bucky.
Now, keeping in mind that I don't buy this book and I have no idea what the storylines have been so far, I can start out by saying that I don't think I'll be picking it up. Sometimes that does happen, you know--that I'll try a book because of a guest appearance and end up getting the book on a regular basis. Just not this time.
I don't care much for the art. It's not bad, just not to my taste--for one thing, Wolverine appears uncharacteristically clean-cut--but there are some good points to it, including good facial differentiation among characters and a nice subtlety of expression.
I am enjoying the retakes on the character of Bucky (and, to a lesser extent, Captain America) in the Golden Age; in this case, he is presented as impatient and hot-tempered, and perhaps a bit jealous of his partnership with Cap, which I suppose isn't unrealistic considering how early in their career this is. (I also have to say that it's a rare artist who can make Bucky's Golden Age costume look good on a young adult, and in this book it really doesn't, but I think that may be the point.)
What I find unlikely, though, is that Cap is presented as a bit naive, or at least unaware. In #18, it turns out that he has not been fully briefed about his and Bucky's mission--Bucky has a task to do (taking out Baron Strucker) that Cap knows nothing about. My impression, from reading elsewhere, was that Cap may not have taken part in the bloodier aspects of their missions, but he certainly knew about them, and knew what Bucky was up to. The notion of Bucky as more informed than Cap really doesn't fit with what I've gathered so far.
One thing I am enjoying about this storyline is that it shows that Cap didn't become a living legend overnight--that, like anyone else, he had to prove himself. You don't see that a lot in Captain America origin stories--usually he struggles while in training, but as soon as he goes official, he's immediately Captain America. Here you see how he did it, which is kind of cool.
In fact, it's a Winter Soldier month all around here at our house--Captain America 30 and 31, these two books, and Cable and Deadpool 45, which also features Golden-Age Cap and Bucky.
Now, keeping in mind that I don't buy this book and I have no idea what the storylines have been so far, I can start out by saying that I don't think I'll be picking it up. Sometimes that does happen, you know--that I'll try a book because of a guest appearance and end up getting the book on a regular basis. Just not this time.
I don't care much for the art. It's not bad, just not to my taste--for one thing, Wolverine appears uncharacteristically clean-cut--but there are some good points to it, including good facial differentiation among characters and a nice subtlety of expression.
I am enjoying the retakes on the character of Bucky (and, to a lesser extent, Captain America) in the Golden Age; in this case, he is presented as impatient and hot-tempered, and perhaps a bit jealous of his partnership with Cap, which I suppose isn't unrealistic considering how early in their career this is. (I also have to say that it's a rare artist who can make Bucky's Golden Age costume look good on a young adult, and in this book it really doesn't, but I think that may be the point.)
What I find unlikely, though, is that Cap is presented as a bit naive, or at least unaware. In #18, it turns out that he has not been fully briefed about his and Bucky's mission--Bucky has a task to do (taking out Baron Strucker) that Cap knows nothing about. My impression, from reading elsewhere, was that Cap may not have taken part in the bloodier aspects of their missions, but he certainly knew about them, and knew what Bucky was up to. The notion of Bucky as more informed than Cap really doesn't fit with what I've gathered so far.
One thing I am enjoying about this storyline is that it shows that Cap didn't become a living legend overnight--that, like anyone else, he had to prove himself. You don't see that a lot in Captain America origin stories--usually he struggles while in training, but as soon as he goes official, he's immediately Captain America. Here you see how he did it, which is kind of cool.
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